Affirmative action (or 'positive discrimination') often gets a bad rap in higher education, but it's better than the alternative:
OXFORD UNIVERSITY ACCUSED OF BIAS AGAINST ETHNIC MINORITY APPLICANTS
The Guardian reports that the data go beyond anecdotal evidence, to show structural, "institutional" racism at one of the world's most prestigious universities.
Should we be surprised that elite schools favour certain groups over others? Legacy students - those whose parents attended the school - already have significant advantages.
Or are these differences in admission rates due to the very real "achievement gap" between white and poor or minority students?
Even if the achievement gap contributes to lower admission rates, the very fact of this gap is a form of structural discrimination that needs to be addressed.
While Oxford spokespeople refute the allegations, the data still demand an honest conversation about all forms of discrimination in education.
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