University of California regents last week overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that would have added a “multiracial’’ box to the system’s admissions application.
The regents voted 12-1 against the proposal. Ward Connerly, the plan’s sponsor, was its only supporter. He argued that categorizing people by race was outdated and racist, adding that multiracial students should be able to identify themselves as a group.
Critics said adding a multiracial box to the application would make the university’s record-keeping system inconsistent with those of other colleges.
Based on federal guidelines, the university’s application allows those who are multiracial to mark multiple boxes. Students who select multiple boxes are counted as the race marked that is most underrepresented on campus.
Mr. Connerly in 1996 led a successful campaign against the use of affirmative action in university admissions. In 2003, he proposed an unsuccessful state proposition to bar most state agencies from collecting racial and ethnic data.
