Admissions at UC Berkeley

In his column (“The Lunacy of Punishing Those Who Try to Excel,” Op-Ed Page, April 16), George F. Will misstates both fact and intent to make the case that UC Berkeley and other universities practice reverse racism in their admissions.

For several decades, the University of California has admitted a mix of students from the top one-eighth of the state’s high school graduates--and that has not changed. Further, since its beginning, the university has guaranteed admission somewhere in its multi-campus system to every Californian who meets that top one-eighth eligibility--and that, also, has not changed.

Asian American leaders have criticized some past admissions decisions at Berkeley, but they have supported us for steps we have taken to achieve diversity. The campus has responded to the concerns of the Asian Americans and has made some changes. (We had never made a change to give verbal tests more weight, however, as Will asserts.)

Will sides with those who would preserve privilege and, in effect, achieve a kind of educational apartheid. But such a system simply won’t work in today’s world, and especially in California.

Will says that universities are “incubators of future elites.” I prefer to see them as the sources for future leaders in all walks of life. The effective training of such a diverse group is surely our most essential task.

IRA MICHAEL HEYMAN

Chancellor

UC Berkeley