LC CA~ STATEThe Michigan Daily - Monday Agr 1919t
LOCAL/STATE
*Race, political ideology, Greek 4fe split lines in admissions factors~
SURVEY
Continued from Page 1
support for affirmative action at the University.
"My guess is that (the white students) weren't
as knowledgeable on the subject as the non-
white people because it is more important to
Shem. It affects their lives daily so they are
more educated on the subject," said
Regentin, a Michigan Student Assembly rep-
resentative and Defend Affirmative Action
Party member.
In the sample representing 87 present of
the student population, including both
undergraduate and graduate students, about
60 percent of respondents favored granting
points for applicants with a socio-economic
disadvantage.
The percentage of non-white respondents
O upporting this action - 67 percent - is
about 10 percentage points higher than white
respondents, of whom 57 percent approved
of the action.
"There is a large section of the disapprov-
ing people of affirmative action who say it
can be replaced by socio-economic disad-
vantage," Regentin said.
Although it is not a legitimate substitu-
tion, Regentin added, the effort is not with-
#ut good intention, but it is still dodging the
question of how to address discrimination.
"You take the color out of it," Regentin
said, explaining that while a number of eco-
nomically disadvantaged applicants may be
members of minority groups, the substitu-
tion would not combat discrimination.
About 90 percent of the students surveyed
approved of the use of SAT/ACT scores in
the admissions process. A demographic
breakdown shows that 94 percent of self-
identified white respondents favor the use of
test scores and nearly 83 percent of self-
identified non-white respondents agreed
with the use SAT/ACT scores.
But Regentin said he believes standard-
ized tests are poor measures of intellectual
abilities.
"Not that it should be discontinued, we
need many factors to evaluate applicants,"
Regentin said. "It should only be one of
many criteria."
Respondents who identified themselves
with either liberal or conservative affilia-
tions also showed strong splits in opinion on
various admissions factors.
Nearly 61 percent of respondents who said
they are liberal also supported using race in
admissions, but only 16 percent of conserv-
ative respondents said they supported its
use.
Liberal respondents also were more likely
to approve awarding points for socio-eco-
nomic disadvantage with nearly 68 percent
approval, compared to the conservative
respondents 43 percent approval.
Although neither group had a majority
favoring the use of legacy -points awarded
to applicants if family members have attend-
ed or graduated from the University - lib-
erals were less likely to support points for its
use with only 24 percent approval, while 40
percent of conservatives approved the factor.
College Democrats President Kelley
Boland, an LSA junior, said these percent-
ages follow with the liberal ideal to give
advantages to people who have been denied
privileges in the past.
"It could just be a lot of times legacy gets
tied to successful parents who went" to the
University, Boland said. "Having a parent
who went here isn't going to predict a stu-
dent's success here."
Male and female respondents to the sur-
vey also varied in their disapproval of the
use of race as a factor in admissions with
nearly 46 percent of women opposing race
as a factor and 56 percent of men opposing
its use.
Boland said she thinks this is most likely
because affirmative action was designed to
benefit women and minorities by attempting
to eliminate race and sex discrimination.
"Females are more sympathetic to minori-
ties," Boland said.
Survey respondents also highly approved
the use of leadership as a factor in the
admissions process.
Regentin said questioning the University's
award of leadership points is like question-
ing the University's desire to attract intelli-
gent applicants.
Across all subgroups, students strongly
approved of the University granting points
for leadership achievements with 96 percent
of self-identified white respondents and 92
percent of non-white identified respondents
approving the use of the leadership.
"That was a no-brain kind of answer,"
Regentin said.
Another distinct group of University stu-
dents, those involved in the Greek communi-
ty, showed distinctly different opinions from
those not involved in the Greek community,
on the issue of giving points to applicants
for athletic ability and race.
Fifty-six percent of self-identified mem-
bers of the Greek system approved awarding
athletes points for admission, while only 35
percent of respondents who said they are not
members of the Greek community said they
approve of the athlete's points.
On the question regarding awarding points
for race, 33 percent of Greeks said they
approved and 44 percent of non-Greeks
approved.
Kinesiology senior Brad Holeman, former
president of the Interfraternity Council, said
he thinks members of the Greek community
were not weighing the two questions against
each other as an either/or situation.
"Greeks understand the importance of
extracurricular activities," Holeman said,
explaining that many Greeks participated in
leadership and extracurricular activities
before coming to the University, giving them
a greater respect solely for athletic achieve-
ment.
In terms of diversity, Holeman said the
Greek system is diverse, but not representa-
tive of the University population as a whole,
Do you approve or
of the following as a
admissions?
SCHOLARSHIP ATPLETES&
Strongly N n
AgreeA s.
Don't Know
Strongly
Disagree.
D\7isagree
For the entire sample, the marpi f
error due to sampling is +4 per E
points, and it is larger for sbsmpPes.
adding that many minoriies Live other
opportunities for a fraternity envsiroBlment
such as the Black Greek Syste m and houses
for minority students.
Holeman said the lack of support trom thu
Greek community for gi'n o for Li
may be because of the weih of dh p
on a person's application ndi not h e
tence of them altogether.
"A lot of people feel the i' ''a
much," Holeman said. "hIat de rot Jovs n-
play that race and ethnicity Thoud be k ift
tor."
Dinomana
Timlble calls
for firearms
BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) - Northern Ireland's
top Protestant politician appealed yesterday to the
province's major outlawed pro-British groups to hand in
weapons as the best way to force the IRA to do the same.
David Trimble, elected last year to lead Northern
Ireland's still-unformed Protestant-Catholic government,
made the appeal on the eve of renewed talks in London to
be led by the British and Irish prime ministers.
Speaking to BBC television, Trimble said the outlawed
Ulster Defense Association and Ulster Volunteer Force
should hand over weapons to the disarmament commission
established as part of the year-old peace accord.
Like their enemies in the Irish Republican Army, the UDA
and UVF have been observing cease-fires but have refused
to start disarming as the peace agreement anticipated.
The IRA's position has ensured Protestant refusal to
form any government that includes the IRA-allied Sinn
Fein party, which gets enough votes to lay claim to two
of the 12 prospective Cabinet posts. Neither UDA nor
UVF politicians have sufficient support to merit gov-
ernment posts.
:
Two Pterodactyl skeletons hang as part of an exhibition yesterday at the University's Museum of
Natural History located on North University Avenue.
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