When senior Stephanie Ramey tried to sign up online for Math 243 Calculus for Business and Social Science for spring term she was denied access and informed she would have to contact the class professor.
The professor asked her to contact the Office of Multicultural Academic Support about enrolling in his class.
A staff member at the office said she couldn’t register for the class because she doesn’t identify as a minority, Ramey said.
Ramey, who tried to get into the section because it was the only one available, was told that if she wanted to be in the class, she’d have to show up at 7:45 a.m. Monday, the first day of classes, and meet with an adviser before she could enroll, she said.
“I guess I was just really surprised and irritated because I thought I had a right to get into the class too. … I guess I felt a little bit discriminated against,” Ramey said. “For a sophomore math class, I shouldn’t have to wait just because I’m white.”
Ramey attempted to enroll in one of six University classes this term that reserve the first 10 slots in an
18-student class for minority students, while requiring others who want to get into the class to arrive on the morning of the first day of class and meet with an adviser before being allowed to register for the remaining eight slots. The OMAS pays for and controls three lower-division math and three lower-division English classes that allow fewer enrolled
students and provide more individualized instructor attention. While other sections of Math 242 and Math 243 this term have an average of 115 students for lectures, 29 students for discussions and 35 students for integrated classes, the OMAS classes had a maximum of 18 students. The general Writing 121 and Writing 122 sections had an average of 25 students per class, and the OMAS sections were again restricted to 18 students.
Linda Liu, advising coordinator and academic adviser for OMAS, said the classes are meant to offer a safe haven for minority students and give struggling students a chance to work more closely with professors.
But Edward Blum — senior fellow at the conservative Virginia-based Center for Equal Opportunity, which monitors education policy and has filed complaints with the federal government about race-exclusive programs at universities across the
nation — said the policy is illegal.
“I can say it 10 different ways, but it’s illegal, and the Department of Education will shut this down if it’s brought to their attention,” Blum said.
Blum said the policy amounts to a “very fast, hard quota system that will never stand up in court” and is similar to the University of Michigan undergraduate racial quota system struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003.
Students must identify as being African-American, Asian-American/Pacific Islander, Chicano/Latino, Native American or multiracial to enroll in the first 10 slots. The OMAS confirms all students’ racial identifications with the Office of the Registrar, Liu said.
Greg Vincent, vice provost for institutional equity and diversity, said the University offers a smaller class setting for these “gateway courses” for students who could benefit from them. He said the classes also provide a comforting environment that minority students may not get in other classes. The classes aren’t based on a quota, and after the initial
10 spots are filled, the classes are open to everyone, he said.
“We only give preference for a number of slots,” Vincent said. “I think it’s ethical. I think it is legal. I think it is effective.”
Liu said her office receives several students each term who call the policy reverse discrimination.
But Liu said during the seven years she’s been in control of enrollment for the classes, there have always been spots open for students who want to enroll after the initial 10 spots are filled.
“If students really need it because they want that time, they want that class, they’re willing to wake up at 7:30 to get here. And it takes less than five minutes to do the preauthorization and register for them,” Liu said.
This spring term, all of the classes had open spaces but no students showed up at the OMAS on the first day of classes to meet with her and enroll, Liu said.
University Senior Instructor Michel Kovcholovsky, who teaches the OMAS’s math classes, said the classes were created to foster a comfortable environment for minorities. “That was the basic idea, so that they don’t feel afraid to raise their hand and ask something.”
He said he understands that some students get angry over the class enrollment policy, which he has no control over. “Is it unfair? That, I’d rather not even go there. I understand the reason why it exists.”
He said students enjoy interacting with him one-on-one. The course material he teaches is exactly the same. “To lower the standards for people of color would be racism,” Kovcholovsky said.
Liu said all students still have to meet basic academic requirements necessary to get into the OMAS classes and that sometimes people misunderstand and think the classes are remedial.
“Sometimes we get the athletic department wanting to send us students who don’t necessarily have the (academic) requirements … and they believe these classes are remedial and we have to tell them it’s not. If anything, it’s harder,” Liu said.
Senior psychology major Kady-Ann Davy, who identifies as Jamaican American, said she took an OMAS Writing 122 class her sophomore year, and she liked the class because it covered diverse cultures and provided time to free-write about her own experiences with diversity.
She said the enrollment policy is fair because coming from a smaller high school, she liked the opportunity to study in a smaller class and that the remaining slots still give everybody a chance to enroll.
“Knowing that it’s open to everybody the first day, first come, first served, if there’s any slot openings, I feel that still gives the opportunity for the other population of students to come and sign up for the class,” Davy said.
Other departments also have classes specifically designated for specific student populations.
The American English Institute has a Writing 121E class each term for students who speak English as a second language. The instructor is more sensitive to the grammatical needs of those students. Academic Learning Services also has a program, funded by a federal grant, that students can apply for if they are low income, first generation college students or have documented disabilities. Students in that program have first priority on a Math 111 class taught by ALS Math Specialist Doug Hintz. The federal grant requires students who have a greater need of the class to get priority, Hintz said.
Blum said these classes aren’t illegal because neither uses race as a determinant for enrollment.
Roger Clegg, general counsel for the Center for Equal Opportunity, said in the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke decision, the Supreme Court “made it clear setting aside slots on the basis of race is illegal.”
“The legality aside, it’s just wrong,” Clegg said. “It’s divisive to tell students you’re not going to be considered because of your skin color … I hope that the University will look at the law and will reconsider the policy.”

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