Law scholar discusses affirmative action

Julianne Herts Staff Writer

Acclaimed affirmative action scholar Frank Wu visited Vassar on Monday, Nov. 26 to give a lecture entitled “Dream of a Diverse Democracy: Affirmative Action and Higher Education” in the Villard Room.

During his lecture, Wu stressed the importance of viewing affirmative action as a “forward-looking principle.” He argued that affirmative action is needed in order to ensure the existence of a diverse community.

“This community,” said Wu of Vassar College, “and any community of higher education, is a self-consciously created community which has a vision, or certainly ought to have a vision, about what it would like to be.”

Wu, who served on the Law Faculty of Howard University for nine years before becoming the dean of Wayne State University Law School, has taught at Columbia University, University of Michigan, Stanford University, and Deep Springs College.

His lecture was part of Vassar’s Common Ground lecture, an effort by the offices of the Dean of the Faculty and the Dean of the College to explore issues of gender and racial equality.

While introducing Wu, Assistant Professor of English and Africana Studies Tyrone Simpson explained that the Common Ground series asks the Vassar community to “consider soberly the conundrum of racial inequality and discuss it in good faith. [It calls] on us to earn our elitism…in the hope that we can make a difference.” Simpson also recalled his first encounter with Wu’s work, noting that, “His comments on race relations did not suggest that he had studied it but simply that he had listened.”

Wu is a noted proponent of affirmative action and a widely published author. He regularly writes a column in AsianWeek, and has also been published in other periodicals including the Washington Post, the Chronicle for Higher Education and Legal Times. Wu’s media appearances include a stint as the host of PBS talk show entitled Asian American and appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Al Franken Show and The O’Reilly Factor.

Though Wu’s media appearances often involve debates on issues of affirmative action, he began his lecture at Vassar by denouncing debate and encouraging conversations about race relations instead. “A debate frames the issue as figuratively black and white,” said Wu. “What we need instead is a dialogue.” Wu cautioned against beginning a discussion with affirmative action at all. “When we look at affirmative action we look at the remedy not the underlying problem.”

The issue of affirmative action is particularly controversial in light of the June 2007 Supreme Court decision, which ruled that public schools may not consider the race of their students in making admissions decisions.

The decision marked the first federal affirmative action ruling since the Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that affirmative action is constitutional in university admissions, provided that each candidate for admission is granted “individualized consideration” and “strict scrutiny.”

Wu is a firm supporter of the 2003 court ruling. “The goal was to ensure inclusion in these institutions of people in a range of backgrounds,” he said. He noted that the 2003 ruling marked the first time that affirmative action was embraced as forward-looking, as its intention was to create a diverse future in education instead of to compensate for a homogenous past.

Wu’s 2002 book, Yellow: Race in America beyond Black and White, says of affirmative action, “The question should not be whether we should abolish this program or amend that plan. The question should be, ‘What will we do to address continuing racial disparities?’” The book examines racism in modern America and explores the complexity of prejudice in a society that prides itself on the condemnation of racists.

The lecture concluded with a reminder that as a college, it is important that Vassar “not only think about what will benefit it and those who we see as our people but that we re-conceive of what it means to be a people.”