In December 2008—more than a month after Barack Obama’s election—California Assemblyman Ed Hernandez introduced legislation that would amend the constitution and reverse Proposition 209. Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 7 seeks to exempt from the state’s anti-discrimination laws the public school system and the University of California.
Opponents of Proposition 209 claim the measure has harmed minority students and cite decreased enrollment amongst minorities. After introducing ACA 7, Hernandez commented, “We have seen the damage done by Proposition 209, and it is time we cut away those provisions that keep qualified students from pursuing a higher education. It is time to stop tying the hands of our public universities and colleges and allow them to extend these same opportunities to all qualified Californians.”
Conveniently overlooked by Hernandez are the statistics showing minority graduation rates have actually increased since the passage of Proposition 209. The black graduation rate at UC Berkeley increased by 6.5% and doubled at UC San Diego. These statistics indicate that although some elite universities have admitted fewer racial minorities, the graduation rate is actually higher amongst those groups. This means more students who worked hard and want to receive a diploma are earning their way, not receiving entrance to a school simply based upon their ethnicity and then dropping out.
This attempt to overturn the voter-approved Proposition 209 makes one wonder who is truly stuck in the past: the people, or the supposedly progressive and enlightened academia? Universities are the bastions of liberalism, where their fascist political philosophy is protected from reality and can breed a new generation of adherents. In this surreal environment, liberals are still mired in the era of judging someone based on their skin color, not the content of their character or their academic abilities.
If we truly are in a post-racial America, why are liberals still trying to turn back the clock on raced-based discrimination?