Blame Affirmative Action's Demise for Black Student Drop-Off

LOS ANGELES--When confronted with the shocking revelation that black students have virtually disappeared from the incoming freshmen class at UCLA, former University of California regent Ward Connerly hotly denied that his relentless assault on affirmative action at the U.C. system had anything to do with it. Black students will make up barely 2 percent of the more than 4,000 freshmen at UCLA in the fall. That's less than 100 students. Two decades ago, black students made up nearly 10 percent of the incoming freshmen there.

The numbers are even more embarrassing at U.C. San Diego. Black students will make up a microscopic 1 percent of the new freshmen class.

Connerly and other affirmative action opponents blame the plunge on bad teachers, bad schools and low student achievement at inner city schools. Or they say that more black students simply choose to go to Historically Black Colleges. That's true in part. And sharp cutbacks in financial aid, laggard recruiting programs, and rigid reliance on test scores have chilled admission of black students at some schools.

Then there's the added problem of keeping black students on the campus, even after they're admitted. Federal figures report that only 39 percent of blacks get their degree. That's compared to 57 percent for white students and 44 percent for Hispanics. A 2004 Education Trust report found a quarter of schools have gaps between whites and blacks of 20 points or more.

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