Virginia Tech Restores Affirmative Action Policy

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech reinstated its affirmative action policy Sunday, despite assertions from the attorney general’s office that some of its diversity programs are unconstitutional.
The school’s Board of Visitors voted 7-5 with one abstention to rescind a March 10 ban on preferences for racial minorities and other underrepresented groups in hiring, admissions and scholarships.
The vote came after a four-hour meeting punctuated by outbursts from a crowd of about 250 people, most supporters of affirmative action. The board called Sunday’s special meeting after weeks of protest over its resolution in closed session to dismantle affirmative action.
The university had reviewed its diversity program at the request of Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, who warned Virginia schools that race-conscious policies violate federal law.
Virginia Tech has struggled to bring black students to its Blacksburg campus after enrolling the first black student in 1953.
The student body is still only 6 percent black, while blacks make up about 20 percent of Virginia’s population.