Ah, the irony at Duke University. The cover story of the September-October 2003 issue of the Duke Magazine, "Discourse on Discrimination," offered a series of insightful interviews with undergraduates about affirmative action in the light of recent Supreme Court decisions. A few pages later, I noticed another plug for the Duke Annual Fund. But this plug was different. It listed all the major donors and their affiliations with the University.
I perused the list of names, recognized a few surnames, and then started paying attention to the little codes. "P" stands for parent. In the President's Executive Council Members category of donations of $25,000 and up, I counted about 78 Duke parents whose children are currently enrolled or have recently graduated. And the class of 2006 seemed to be over-represented. Oh that's right, they applied to Duke at the height of the Annual Fund drive.
Who knows how many of these parents donated the cost of a family sedan, luxury vehicle or even the cost of a private jet? After all, the category $25,000 and up leaves the imagination wondering what sort of small fortune constitutes the price of admission to Duke University.
For one student, that price was rumored to be 2 million dollars. I remember eons ago back in friendly Pegram dorm when a rumor hit the halls late September. Apparently, one of my fellow Pegramites was admitted to the University after his parents donated an astounding 2 million George Washingtons right after he applied. I wish my parents loved me that much. And if they did, I certainly wouldn't brag about it.
Daniel Golden of The Wall Street Journal knows all about the practice of admitting under-qualified, yet affluent students to Duke University--he published an exposé on Duke admissions practices last May. If you haven't had a chance to read it, here's one of the mind-numbing quotes from a business-savvy Duke parent: "Did my normal child take the place of somebody who could really make a difference in the world? Sure, yes, to an extent. But there are so many things you can lose sleep over. I'm happy for me and my child." Well, I'm not happy you can buy your way into an elite university, and I'm not so happy Duke will take the bribe.
Apparently, the director of admissions and another administrator debate over a hundred applicants each year who were initially rejected but have some development cachet for the University. In Golden's article, one of the students debated over had an SAT score of 1190. Golden also reports that 3 to 5 percent of Duke students are "development admits." The percentage might be small, but its implications are worth considering in light of affirmative action.
Of course, the significant donations garnered by these questionable admits benefit the entire University body. Just like affirmative action for some minority students, preferential admissions for wealthy or well-connected students is a complex issue. And I'm certainly not arguing that every parent who donated $25,000 plus to the Annual Fund "bought" his or her child's acceptance letter. Just like many minority student admittances, I would imagine most wealthy students were admitted entirely on their own merits as high-quality applicants, whether or not their parents donate money.
But what's unfortunate is that we never debate the practice of preferential admissions for under-qualified, wealthy applicants. Do we implicitly assume that this is fair? Of course we want their money, right? But for some minority students at Duke who are not afforded the privileges of excellent academic opportunities, yet demonstrate outstanding potential, we must constantly question whether it's fair to lower standards for these students in the applicant pool.
To put it more bluntly, primarily African-American students have to justify why they "deserve" to be at Duke and confront the assumption that all African-American students were admitted through affirmative action. The primarily white and wealthy students who buy a spot in Pegram dorm at the expense of qualified students are never burdened with the same inquiry. If we want to debate preferential admissions, let's for once start with "Bob" at "X" New England prep school with an 1190 SAT score who just received his early decision packet last week. Christopher Scoville is a Trinity junior. His column appears every third Thursday.
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