For decades, colleges and universities in Virginia have used race as a factor in their admissions policies to ensure a diverse student body. Now the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate is calling for an end to that practice.
Lilly Qin is the mother of three Asian-American students in Northern Virginia. She says she’s concerned that they might not be able to get into the college of their choice because of university admissions policy.
“I want to make sure that Asian-American children can be just as competitive with hard work and diligence as all other races.”
She part of a group of conservative Asian Americans who are supporting Republican Corey Stewart in his campaign against incumbent Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat. Stewart says federal funding for colleges and universities should be withheld until they stop using race as a factor in admissions policies. When asked if doing away with race as a factor in admissions policies would harm diversity, Stewart responded this way.
“Is it OK for the government, is it OK for universities to practice racial discrimination at the universities against kids? Is that OK?”
Kaine says diversity is a compelling government interest, and race-conscious admission policies are necessary to accomplish that diversity.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
