Re-writing race for college applications

Where only first names appear, names have been changed to protect the identities of the sources.

Cathy Stein, a Counselor in the Blair Career Office, thinks it would be easy. All it would take is filling in one tiny box on one very long college application, an almost imperceptible lie that's essentially impossible to disprove, and one that can significantly increase a student's chances of being accepted into college.

With no way for colleges to verify that a student's real race matches the ethnicity recorded on applications, it is relatively easy for white students to lie and claim to be of a minority race, thereby taking advantage of affirmative action, a system that tries to remedy discrimination by giving preferential admissions to students from ethnic groups that have traditionally been oppressed, according to Michael Faillace, an employment litigator in new York City and former in-house Affirmative Action Employment Counsel for International Business Machines Corporation. Although colleges that accept federal financial assistance must adopt affirmative action programs in their admissions policies, many of these same schools do not adequately verify the races of applicants, according to Faillace. For Blazers like Pete-a white senior-writing down a false race is not only easy, but also entails no negative consequences.

In an informal Silver Chips survey conducted of 100 white students on Oct. 28, 73 percent said that they would lie about their ethnicity on college applications if there was no way for colleges to refute their claims.

While Brown University requires photographic proof of a student's race, most colleges neglect to carefully verify an applicant's ethnicity, according to CollegeConfidential.com.

Although there is very little to stop students from lying about their race on college applications, applicants who do so are taking a very large risk in Faillace's eyes. "If you take the chance of lying and get caught, you will be in trouble,” says Faillace. "Will every school always check your race? I don't know. But, if you do lie and they do find out, you are done for.”

A picture tells a thousand races

Although many colleges and universities typically withdraw a student's admission and pocket their application fees as punishment for lying on applications, there is no official collegiate process for reviewing and verifying a student's race, according to CollegeConfidential.com, making it very easy for students like Pete to escape punishment for lying about their ethnicity.

Since the ninth grade, Pete has recorded his race as "other" or "Eskimo/Native American" on standardized tests such as the HSA's and the PSAT's, the latter being the first test scores that colleges consult when recruiting students.

Although Pete's identity as a white person could have easily been discovered by consulting his high school registration forms, Pete admits that he has never been caught for recording a false ethnicity. "I do it mainly as a joke," says Pete. "When nothing happened after the first test, I just kept recording my ethnicity as 'other' or 'Eskimo.' I've never been contacted about lying about my race or punished for it. Writing down a false race is really pretty easy. And nothing bad happens if you do."

A or B?

With college admissions growing increasingly competitive, many white students may lie about their ethnicity because they think it will boost their chances of being accepted, according to Blair Guidance Counselor Melba Battle. While some students won't go so far as to falsely record their ethnicity, they will emphasize a part of their actual heritage specifically. "I've had kids ask me, 'What should I write down under race, A or B?'" says Stein. "They want to know which answer will give them a better chance of getting into college."

The desire by colleges to avoid the discovery of their affirmative action programs is likely due to the polarizing nature of the topic.

Although Senior Clare Marshall-who is half-white and half-Algerian-believes in the purpose behind affirmative action, she doesn't agree with the way it is implemented by college admissions programs. "I agree with affirmative action to a certain extent because it helps people who wouldn't normally get into college," says Marshall. "But the way it's handled is horrible. Colleges say that they need X number of blacks and X number of Hispanics just because they want to appear culturally diverse. It's not about equality."

Junior Alec Garrin, who has a black mother and a white father, isn't comfortable with affirmative action in college applications, but still doesn't mind using it to her advantage. "I don't agree with affirmative action, but if I can benefit from it, I will," admits Garrin.