CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — At its meeting Thursday, the UNC Chapel Hill Board of Trustees voted down a motion from board member Marty Kotis that would have prohibited the university from discriminating or granting preferential treatment based on race, sex, color or ethnicity -- including in the admissions process for students.
Kotis, a real estate investor and developer in Greensboro, was appointed to UNC Chapel Hill's Board of Trustees in the summer of 2021.
The exact wording of Kotis' proposed motion reads: "The University shall not discriminate against or grant preferential treatment to an individual, group or company on the basis of race, sex, color or ethnicity."
Just last month, a federal judge ruled that UNC Chapel Hill could continue considering race as a factor in its undergraduate admissions after the university demonstrated a compelling educational reason to cultivate a diverse student body.
Kotis spoke about his reasons for proposing the measure at Thursday's meeting.
"The goal of this motion is to make sure that people are treated fairly and equally. When we start talking about quotas, or underrepresented, or overrepresented, or labeling people - I think that's not treating everybody fairly. It's treating them based on a category, and that, in of itself, does not sit well with me," Kotis said.
He referenced accusations of discrimination from the controversial tenure case of Nikole Hannah-Jones, as well as a memo in 2020 from Susan King, dean of the journalism school, that mentioned eliminating GPA requirements to recruit more first-generation students and students of color.
“A goal of diversity can be achieved by greater recruiting efforts, scholarships, all sorts of things to increase diversity without having to discriminate or admit people with different standards,” Kotis said.
The proposal, as Kotis points out, reads similarly to existing legislation in states like California, where Proposition 209 passed in the 1990's has effectively banned affirmative action in public education on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. Last year California voters upheld the law with 57% of the vote.
While the motion was seconded, Kotis' proposal was met with opposition and debate from most other board members, who ultimately voted to fail the measure.
"I am concerned this would have a negative effect on our ability to have a more diverse campus," said board member Ralph Meekins. "While the intentions may be good, and I agree that everyone should be treated fairly, I think our process is a good process. It's not working as good as it should - I'd like our campus to be more diverse."
UNC Student Body President, Lamar Richards, serves on the trustee board strongly condemned the resolution.
"I think this resolution is honestly disrespectful. That's the only way I can sum it up," Richards said. "The idea that somehow by creating a more diverse campus you have to lower our standards is just false. It's not true. And the language of this motion is not going to fly with me."
Kotis replied, stating that "it is disrespectful for those applying to label them and say we are going to judge you based on a label, rather than the merits of your application."
Another board member, Teresa Artis Neal, also spoke out against the measure.
"It's my understanding this incoming class has some of the highest, if not the highest, academic achievement from a performance standpoint. It's extremely diverse. So, I am concerned with the notion that diversity brings a lowering of standards. I think our admissions policy is fair and I think this resolution is unnecessary," said Neal.
According to UNC Chapel Hill, the Fall 2021 incoming class demographics among 5,360 new students are 65% White or Caucasian, 21% Asian or Asian American, 12% Black or African American, 10% Hispanic or Latinx, and 2% American Indian or Alaska Native.
The board voted to fail the motion before adjourning.
Kotis spoke with WFMY News 2 on Saturday about the motion.
"Chapel Hill is frankly in an attempt I think to virtue signal, is more liberal than California," Kotis said. "The next step for me is to have a public discussion about these measures. When you put your thumb on the scale for one group, you potentially disadvantage another."
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