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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPresident end Texas A&M Legacy AdmissionsNews '-' El Paso Times Sat, Jan 10, 2004 Page 14 i ur�•�t. rc https://www.newspapers.com/image/432385631 Printed on Mar 18, 2019 Wesi*dentends controversial legacy admissions at A&M Associated Press ('01 I.FGF STATION, -Texas — Tesas A&M University's presi- dent said Friday that the school will no longer give preference to applicants whose parents or grandparents were graduates. A group of state lawmakers crit- icized the legacy program Wednesday, and representative-s of state civil rights groups mdik.it- ed they would file suit against the school if the policy didn't change. A&M President Robert (,.lies said the threat of litigation played no role in his decision to eliminate the policy immediately, though criticism was a factor in the uni- ing. "What I'v e seen in the media this We•ek ce•rimnk reinti►rce•d th,• he I that 1 had t� � i, t quickly," (gates said. "hut I'd saN the train was al- r adv out of the station." Gates said he initially believed the university had more time to deal with the legacy program, which was recognized as a prob- lem by November• and that he takes "full responsibility" for any negative publicity to A2-M. Ile said the policy played less of a role in admissions than many be- lieved, and that university officials would continue to encourage stu- dents from Aggie families to ap- Pl•. ..But, after consultation with each of the Texas A&M Universi- ty System regents, I have decided that. effective• immediately, Texas A&M will no longer award points ttir lcv,icv in the .ikln►issions re NEW MEXICO View process," he said in a state- ment. Prior affiliation with the univer- sity should not he part of an ad- missions process based on indi- vidual merit and potential contri- bution, he said. Typically, anywhere from 1,050 to more than -1,000 A&M appli- cants a year received legacy points, usually 4 points on a 100- point scale. The state NAACP president called the program discriminator because blacks did not attend Texas A&M until 190, negating the "legacy" of man\• minority ap- plicants. (.,'ary Bledsoe, the NAACP leader, said scrapping the program was a good first step, but that the university must do much more to meet its responsibilities. Copyright © 2019 Newspapers.com. All Rights Reserved. News