University Of Texas Law School, Texas Admissions encourage grade grubbing, exclude blacks/hispanics

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Q. The law's effect on the student body makeup at UT-Austin has been subtle. Overall, the proportion of top 10 percent students in the freshman class has edged up to 53 percent in the current first-year class, from 46 percent in 1997, just before the law took effect. After the initial, sharp drop in minority enrollment following the appeals court's decision, the 10 percent law has helped the numbers of African American and Hispanic freshmen recover approximately to their previous levels. More than 14 percent of this year's entering class is Hispanic; about 3.5 percent is black.

A. OK so the first paragraph above translates to: 47% of the freshman were *not* in the top 10 percent of their graduating class at a Texas high school. I'm sure some are from out of state, etc etc. But why can't that 47% include quite a few of the students being talked about in the next paragraph?? If they're "just below the highest 10 percent", seems like they could be offered admission too. Does the end of affirmative action disallow that?? One thing the article didn't highlight enough - not all of the "top 10 percenters" are guaranteed admission at the UT-Austin campus. The less-competitive applicants are offered admission at other UT-system campuses. And I'm not sure if Texas A&M is in on the game or not. My daughter, who is a Junior, plays varsity basketball. This year and next year she will *not* get academic credit for basketball, which takes up 2 class periods out of an 8-class load per semester. (her school only allows credit for 2 years of sports) So students who don't play sports as Juniors and Seniors can take other, easy-A classes for credit and make 100s in those classes, thus increasing their GPA. I wouldn't want her to quit basketball just to improve her GPA, because I believe the benefits she receives from playing sports are more important than her class rank. But for those students who are borderline top-10-percent, and who would like to attend UT, I can see how it might be a tough choice. What school gives credit for sports? I've never heard of such a thing, let alone 2 class periods out of 8. Most high schools that require phys. ed. (and too few do) give only partial credit even for that. I would be screaming bloody murder if the high school my kids attended allotted 25% of their class time to soccer, swimming, or whatever other sports he/she may be involved in, varsity or not. Sports is an after-school activity and should never be allowed to interfere with academics.

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