As reprinted by the Kansas City Star, the Chicago Tribune has a very interesting article that describes the recent efforts of many colleges and universities around the country to curtail or even eliminate their legacy admissions (accepting applicants primarily because they are children of alumni). As the article notes, the recent controversy over the legality and morality of race-based affirmative action has prompted many colleges to also rethink their legacy admissions, which many charge are just a different form of affirmative action:

Some critics of the policy have also been beneficiaries. President Bush - who followed his father and grandfather to Yale despite a lackluster academic record -- favors abolishing the practice, which also aided his daughter Barbara, a June graduate.

Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. - with familial ties to Harvard -- has also proposed legislation against legacies, while John Edwards made it part of his stump speech as the Democratic nominee for vice president. “Why should my children get special treatment when they’ve already been given every advantage?” asked Edwards, a millionaire trial lawyer.

Highly selective schools staunchly defend the practice, saying it boosts both loyalty and fundraising, allowing more financial aid to be offered to underrepresented groups. . . . At public institutions, where the taxpayer picks up a significant part of the cost of education, it could be a different story.

The University of Georgia decided to scrap legacy admissions in 2003 after it lost a federal lawsuit challenging its use of affirmative action in undergraduate admissions. The University of California system in 2000 decided to stop giving legacy candidates the advantage of applying as in-state residents. Texas A&M University, which last fall abolished tweaking admissions to benefit its own, says that despite fears of a decline in financial support, no impact on giving has been seen.

I, for one, am happy to see legacy admissions being reduced and even eliminated. But once again, shouldn’t that apply to race-based affirmative action as well, since the two systems are so similar? Not exactly -- affirmative action seeks to assist candidates who belong to groups that have historically suffered systematic exclusion and discrimination. Legacy admits cannot say the same thing.