Should colleges give preferential treatment to gay students in their admissions processes? At least one school, Middlebury, is already doing so on the grounds that they bring “a unique quality” to the school. Inside Higher Ed has the story here.
Not only do gay students merit a preference at Middlebury, but so do non-gay applicants who say that they’re members in “gay-straight alliances.” Such applicants get a a boost because they’re regarded as “bridge builders.”
What we have here, I submit, is another instance of “diversiphiles” (as Peter Wood calls them in his insightful book Diversity: The Invention of a Concept) hunting for another excuse to micro-engineer the student body to their liking. Never mind that the non-preferred student who gets rejected might have had some really unique qualities. Nevertheless, Middlebury is a private institution and entitled to run its operations according to whatever preferences its officials may have. Unfortunately, many other private institutions — particularly businesses — are not allowed similar freedom to make the choices they want.
