Coalition Challenges Virginia Tech Ban on Affirmative Action
BLACKSBURG, Va.
Black alumni of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) were joined by Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and others last month in expressing disapproval of the university’s board of visitors decision to bar the consideration of race and gender in the campus admissions, hiring and financial aid processes.
“The Black alumni are outraged that on the eve of the 50th anniversary celebration of the first Black student at Virginia Tech, the board of visitors passed a resolution intending to take Virginia Tech back to the antiquated policies, practices and thinking of the past,” alumni said in a prepared statement.
Brian Roberts, a lawyer and spokesman for the Virginia Tech Black Alumni Network (VTBAN), says the March 10 decision by the board of visitors to adopt a race-neutral admissions policy was motivated by politics.
