Admitting Our Legacy

The U.S. Supreme Court last week issued a 6-2 ruling, upholding a Michigan constitutional amendment that prohibits state universities from considering race as part of their admissions process. The ruling in the case, Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, represents the second time that the Court has ruled on affirmative action in college admissions in the past year, the prior being its ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas last June. The frequency with which the Court has conside

The Admissions Race

As high school seniors prepare to send in their college deposits by May 1, they may breathe a sigh of relief that the admissions process is finally over. With the number of college applications proliferating and admissions rates plummeting, the process has never been more competitive and stressful. For those hapless few stuck in the limbo of waitlists, however, the pressure and anticipation continues. Perhaps no one has suffered more from the dreaded waitlist than a certain high school friend o

One Grain, Two Grains, Four Grains

Once upon a time, a peasant invented the game of chess. The king was so enthralled by the game that he offered the peasant to name any reward of his choice. The peasant responded with the humble request that the king place a grain of rice on the first square of the chessboard, two grains on the second square, four on the third, and so forth, by continually doubling the amount until he had reached the 64th and last square of the board. The king readily accepted, laughing at the peasant’s naïveté.

Refereeing Referendums

“The addition of the Dean of Student’s ability to establish standards in furtherance of principles embodied by the Honor Code and/or to comply with legal requirements and to modify the Student Conduct Process as appropriate to comply with applicable legal requirements and best practices.” Sound familiar? Probably not, but it should. Last Thursday, the administration presented the student body a referendum to approve a set of revisions to the Honor Code. The referendum passed with a decisive ma

Ramblings on Rankings

Two weeks ago, U.S. News & World Report released its 2013 edition of America’s Best Colleges. For the second year in a row, Harvard and Princeton Universities tied to top the list of national universities, as Yale remained entrenched at third. In contrast, there was significant movement lower on the list, as the five-way tie for the fifth spot from last year’s ranking dissolved. The University of Chicago moved up to join Columbia University at fourth, inching ahead of Stanford University and the