Eugene Volokh , November 27, 2006 at 12:11pm] Trackbacks California Universities "Fill[ing] Their Entire Freshman Classes With Nothing But Asian Americans": Which political leader expressed concern about this, and suggested that abolishing race-based admissions could lead to this (in his view unfortunate) result? (Show the answer.) President Clinton, in 1995, when Prop. 209 was being discussed in California. Prop. 209, which was enacted the following year, banned race and sex preferences in public education, employment, and contracting. From Leon Rennert [Bee Washington Bureau Chief], Sacramento Bee, Apr. 7, 1995, at A1 (quoting an exclusive interview with The Bee): "Our diversity is our great strength," [President Clinton] declared. "If a university says, 'Look, we're only going to let in qualified people, but we think that the life of the university will be strengthened if we had different kinds of people,' then I think that's a legitimate thing." Otherwise, he added, "there are universities in California that could fill their entire freshman classes with nothing but Asian Americans." (Hide the answer.) I should note that while the concern was hyperbole -- though universities of course could fill their freshman classes with Asian-Americans, race-blind admissions would not lead to such an outcome -- this year for the first time Asians outnumbered any other racial group, including whites, among students admitted to all University of California schools. (This had already been the case as to some schools.) My reactions: (1) UC doesn't "look like California." In fact, as simple arithmetic will tell us, when Asians are "overrepresented" this way compared to their fraction of the California college-age population, whites and other racial groups are substantially "underrepresented." Yet that's surely no reason to institute race preferences; (2) Asian-American culture is obviously doing something right. Others, including whites like me, should do what they can to copy those aspects of Asian-American culture that promote this. Related Posts (on one page): Something's Terribly Wrong with University Admissions, Judging by This Story: California Universities "Fill[ing] Their Entire Freshman Classes With Nothing But Asian Americans":