- Archives

University of California Regent Ward Connerly is proposing that the 10-campus system add a "multiracial" box to application forms to give students more options in defining themselves. "There's a view among many people who are multiracial that, look, we represent a growing segment of the population in this state, in this country," he said. "And yet there are many who believe that we're just irrelevant, that we don't count." The proposal, which was to be voted on Wednesday afternoon, has drawn criticism from students and others who say the box could make it harder to collect data on minorities. Meanwhile, UC administrators also oppose the change, saying that adding a box would go against federal requirements. The debate illustrates how the emergence of a multiracial population has prompted institutions nationwide to review how they collect data. The U.S. Census decided in 2000 to give people the option to check multiple boxes. In 2004, about 4.3 million people listed themselves as being of more than one race, up 10.5 percent from 2000. Statewide, people identifying themselves as multiracial make up about 5 percent of the total population, twice the national average, said Hans Johnson of the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonprofit research group. Critics of Connerly's proposal note that he led the fight to drop UC's old affirmative action programs and campaigned unsuccessfully for an initiative that would have stopped the state from asking college applicants their race. [more]