Press Release

For Immediate Release, January 9, 2003
Contact: Lorraine Quiroga, 202-833-6130

Washington, DC-The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) today calls on the Bush administration to embrace the University of Michigan's admissions policy as one that promotes racial and ethnic diversity critical to higher learning institutions. The Supreme Court faces an opportunity to uphold the 1978 Bakke Supreme Court decision and continue to guarantee diversity in universities across the country when it hears two cases that will challenge Bakke in the next few days. "The Latino community has long faced an educational crisis of unacceptable drop-rates and low rates of college completion," LULAC National President, Hector Flores said. "LULAC firmly believes that the continuation of affirmative action is a number one priority and is essential to maintaining a diverse student body at our nation's top colleges and universities reflective of the racial and ethnic makeup of our great country, a country of opportunities."

The Latino student is at a disadvantage from the first day he or she enters the school system. According to the Harvard Civil Rights Project, Latinos have faced steadily rising segregation and re-segregation since the 1960s. To make matters worse, there are few significant desegregation efforts being practiced in school districts across the country. Furthermore, patterns of segregation by race and ethnicity are strongly linked to segregation by unequal opportunities and outcomes. Accordingly, dropout rates have been shown to be the highest in predominately minority, segregated high-poverty high schools. The 2000 Census demonstrated an extraordinary growth of the Latino community, particularly in the school population; yet 70 percent of Latino students are concentrated in low-income, urban schools.

"It is critical that the Supreme Court continue to uphold fairness and opportunity in America and continue supporting the right of our educational institutions to utilize carefully crafted diversity admissions policies, such as that of the University of Michigan, in order to guarantee access to all of our children to highly regarded institutions of higher education," Flores said. "Irrespective of the fact that many of our Latino youth come from schools in poverty-ridden areas, they should be included at these universities. The presence of Latino students in these universities helps to counter the trend in school districts across the country where there are lower levels of inter-racial and inter-ethnic exposure."

"This educational crisis affects not only Hispanics, but our nation's employers and retirees who will increasingly depend on the Hispanic population to be better prepared for employment, which means that they will be able to pay into the social security system. There are ample studies correlating the completion of university programs with higher income. It is therefore critical for Latinos to continue having access to these programs, especially given the disadvantages they experience in K-12," Flores added. "We strongly encourage President Bush to support efforts like those of the University of Michigan to reduce barriers to higher education and have inclusive policies for Latinos and other minorities. We feel that these ideas are compatible with President Bush's policies of inclusion," added Flores.

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization in the United States. LULAC advances the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health, and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating at more than 700 LULAC councils nationwide.