Hoping to debunk myths surrounding affirmative action on this campus and beyond, human rights investigator Sidney Moore facilitated a discussion Wednesday in which both students and faculty participated.
Moore said he wanted to dispel beliefs students may have based on rumors they have heard, which oftentimes are wrong.
Students’ beliefs “illustrate the myth that affirmative action gives preference to women and minorities, not based on qualifications,” he said. “A myth is that affirmative action is based on quotas. If we had quotas, we would have found someone.”
He added that quotas are not legal, and in no way does the campus practice them.
Randy Hernandez, senior assistant director for the Office of Admissions, said the University does not have a large pool of applicants. Because of this, affirmative action is not an issue in the admissions process on this campus.
“There is the assumption that we have more applicants then we know what to do with,” he said. “Affirmative action has a greater impact if there is a finite amount of seats in classes.”
Moore said 84 percent of students on campus are white but said the major reason for this is that there isn’t a large number of minority students applying for admission.
Another common myth that students have, Moore said, is that affirmative action only pertains to students of color. Women and people who are disabled are also included in this category, he said. The University is making strides in admitting and employing women, but there are few in higher-level positions on campus.
“There may still be a glass ceiling here based on getting women into higher positions,” he said.
Hernandez said 55 percent of applicants to the University are women, and he expects this number to grow larger in the next few years.
“Women are out-pacing men in attaining a college education,” he said.
Students with disabilities are oftentimes discriminated against because they are different than other students, said Stephanie Owen, a counselor for Students with Disabilities. Students with psychological and learning disabilities are often not looked at as being disabled, she said.
“These students are still something we worry about,” she said. “We want to give these students a chance to get here and succeed. We want to make sure they have a fair chance.”
Students with disabilities are given extra time on tests, said Owen. But these students are still expected to fill the minimum requirements and have the same responsibilities in individual classes.
Financial aid is also an issue that has been believed to be linked to affirmative action, Moore said. Suzanne Hanson, financial aid counselor for the University, said this is absolutely untrue.
“It is equal across the board, based on income,” she said.
Hanson said that University scholarships are based only on the academic process and do not take a candidate’s race or sex into account. But she said private scholarships can and do use those factors for awarding scholarships.
Despite the lack of diversity on campus, the University still does as much as it can to recruit outside of Eugene, Moore said.
“We want to take affirmative steps to get qualified women and minorities to apply here,” he said. “We value diversity on our campus.”