‘Merit-Only’ College Entry Proposal Failing : Education: Opposition by Japanese-Americans to admission policy change frustrates GOP sponsor. Rep. Rohrabacher isn’t giving up the fight.

A last-ditch attempt by Orange County Rep. Dana Rohrabacher to head off growing opposition to his plan to promote “merit-only” college admissions policies collapsed last week when a key California congressman rejected the second of two proposed compromises.

The opposition of Asian-Americans to his proposals has surprised Rohrabacher, who says his intention is to correct an injustice suffered by that ethnic group.

The dispute between Rohrabacher (R-Lomita), whose district includes northwestern Orange County, and Rep. Robert T. Matsui (D-Sacramento) highlights a renewed controversy over the use of affirmative action plans by colleges and universities to promote the admission of blacks, Latinos and other minorities.

It also illustrates the political friction that sometimes is created when Republicans attempt to commandeer an issue--racial discrimination--that has been associated historically with Democrats.

“The Asian-American community is really up for grabs in terms of the two parties,” said one Democrat, who asked not to be identified.

Opposes Quotas

A conservative Republican steeped in Libertarian political philosophy, Rohrabacher has said he strongly opposes schools’ use of racial goals or quotas to admit minority candidates who do not meet academic standards established for the rest of the applicant pool.

He contends that his position has been supported by a recent series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have narrowed the scope of affirmative action programs, especially those established by government agencies.

But some Asian-American leaders and groups have sharply criticized Rohrabacher’s attempt to put Congress on record against school policies that permit admission of more blacks and Latinos at the expense of Asian-Americans.

“The Rohrabacher proposal troubles me in two ways,” said Matsui, who has emerged as the leader of congressional opposition. “It tends to exploit the Asian-American community . . . and it pits Asians against blacks and Hispanics.”

In the last two weeks, Matsui has turned down invitations by Rohrabacher to endorse an amended version of a Rohrabacher congressional resolution on the subject and to jointly call for a Department of Justice investigation.

Rohrabacher, nonetheless, is pressing forward.

“There are people who come from underprivileged groups in the United States who have trouble meeting the standards for admission to major universities. Proper affirmative action would be to try to educate them . . . in order to meet those standards,” Rohrabacher said.

“It is not proper, however, to change standards for one group or the other . . . simply because of their race,” he said. “And the problem is, Asian-Americans have been bearing the brunt of this.”

In recent years, complaints have grown that highly qualified Asian-Americans have been denied admission to such schools as the University of California at Berkeley because school officials have reserved spaces for blacks and Latinos with lesser academic qualifications. Studies have shown that Asian-Americans tend as a group to score higher on achievement and other tests than other ethnic groups, including whites.

In a resolution introduced in June in the House of Representatives, Rohrabacher called on the nation’s universities to end admission policies that discriminate against Asian-Americans and asked the Justice Department to investigate institutions whose admissions policies appear to violate the law.

In part, the resolution reads, “ . . . it has been reported that many institutions of higher education have instituted admissions quotas designed to limit the admission of Asian-Americans. . . . These restrictive quotas are similar to those instituted in the 1920s to limit the admission of Jewish students.”

A congressional resolution puts Congress on record on an issue but does not carry the force of law.

In a recent address to the conservative Heritage Foundation, Rohrabacher acknowledged that he has more in mind for the resolution than a redress of Asian-American grievances.

“The way we can make sure people understand that quotas are un-American is to show that by using quotas, they affect in a very detrimental way a small group of Americans, Asian-Americans, who are struggling to improve their lot,” he said.

“So in a way, we want to help Asian-Americans, but at the same time we’re using it (the resolution) as a vehicle to correct what we consider to be a societal mistake on the part of the United States.”

Rohrabacher had signed up 73 co-sponsors, 27 of them Democrats, before Matsui’s opposition surfaced early last month. Matsui said he was responding to concerns among members of the Asian-American community that Rohrabacher was attempting to use the issue for his own political purposes.

Democrats Demur

In recent weeks, seven Democrats have withdrawn their sponsorship. But Rohrabacher said they have been replaced by seven new Republican sponsors. The measure would require 218 votes for passage.

In an interview last week, Matsui said he turned down the recent compromise offers because he does not believe that Rohrabacher’s measure is the proper way to address the issue.

“We just don’t think a congressional resolution is the way to go because all it really does is heighten an issue in a way that doesn’t produce anything,” Matsui said. “What we’re trying to do is work these things (admissions policy disputes) out on a case-by-case basis.”

He cited an agreement on admission policies at UC Berkeley reached earlier this year after negotiations between school officials and community leaders as evidence that that approach is working.

Specifically, Matsui rejected Rohrabacher’s request to sponsor an amended version of the congressional resolution that would have conceded the legitimacy of affirmative action programs that do not violate the recent, restrictive Supreme Court decisions.

In addition, Matsui declined to co-sign a letter to U.S. Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh that asked the Department of Justice to investigate complaints of admissions discrimination at Boalt Hall, the law school at UC Berkeley.

Instead, Matsui, Rep. Don Edwards (D-San Jose) and other Democrats have drafted letters to Thornburgh and Secretary of Education Lauro F. Cavazos asking for a report on the number of discrimination complaints they have received and the disposition of the investigations.