Et tu, UCSD?

The UC San Diego School of Medicine is the latest UC campus accused by the feds of illegally discriminating against student applicants based on race.  

If true, it’s a betrayal of California voters –– and state and federal law.

This week, US Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon called UCSD Med’s race-based admissions “blatant” and vowed to end them.

Department of Justice probes in recent months led to similar allegations against the med schools of UCLA and UC Davis. The next step, per the DOJ, could be federal lawsuits if the schools don’t voluntarily obey the law.

Good for the feds for pushing back against what appears to be brazen –– and perhaps systematic –– illegality.

At UCSD, for instance, Dhillon said officials used proxy data, such as application questions about hardship, to determine applicants’ race –– and then favored black and Hispanic applicants over whites and Asians.

This led, she added, to admission rates for black applicants that were more than double the admission rates for white applicants.

If such racial bias is indeed occurring (and UCSD as of Tuesday afternoon has only said it’s “reviewing the findings” of the US government), then it’s egregiously illegal.

California voters outlawed race-based preferences in college admissions with Prop 209 in 1996 –– a decision they affirmed in 2020 by rejecting Prop. 16.

And the US Supreme Court, in the Students for Fair Admissions cases, ruled in 2023 that race-based preferences in college admissions are discriminatory and unconstitutional. 

Even the UC system’s own policy bars the use of race in admissions.  

Despite all this, some UC officials apparently would substitute their own judgment for that of California voters and the highest court in the land.

That takes gall.

It also reflects extreme arrogance, disrespect for voters, and a failure to model law-abiding conduct for the students these institutions serve.

If med schools treat the law as subordinate to ideology, might their students –– i.e., doctors –– do the same? 

Racial discrimination is also morally wrong, full stop.

It is wrong when used against black and Hispanic Americans, and it’s wrong when used against white Americans, Asian Americans –– or any other group.

There is no acceptable form of racial discrimination, and the learned officials of UC medical schools should understand that.

Instead, some of them cling to antiquated views the people of California rejected 30 years ago.

Enough already.

Stop with the betrayal of the law, and of California values.

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