GOVT 30.12 (Identical to PBPL 027)
Affirmative Action in Higher Education
Course Description:
Since John F. Kennedy's 1961 executive order to implement affirmative action policies, institutions of higher education have looked for ways to encourage minority and low-income students to matriculate. Some public and private institutions have experienced lawsuits against the policy's implementation. As universities stress their desire for a diverse, well-rounded, high achieving student body—and a healthy balance sheet, there is disagreement about which method of selecting students is both effective and fair. How can educational administrators, parents and community members work together to improve college access? Has affirmative action outlived its original purpose or must we continue taking "affirmative action to ensure that applicants are…treated…without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin"? Has the college access gap widened or shrunk? Do students' lived experiences match the goal of equal opportunity? In this course, students and guest lecturers from a full range of political perspectives will explore the topic of affirmative action through some traditional classroom techniques (reading/ writing/ discussion) as well as experiential education techniques (creating public policy proposals, conversing with affirmative action professionals at Dartmouth, and pitching proposals to a panel of policy experts).