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WASHINGTON - President Bush told a convention of minority journalists Friday that he opposes legacy preferences in college admissions. Colleges should base admissions on merit, he said, not legacy, the preference universities give to children of alumni.
"In my case I had to knock on a lot of doors to follow the old man's footsteps," said Bush, who like his father, attended Yale University.
Bush cited Texas law, approved while he was governor, that guarantees admission to the University of Texas or Texas A&M University for students who graduate in the top 10 percent of a high school class.
"I support diversity," Bush said. "I don't support quotas. I think colleges ought to use merit."
Several college admissions officials who heard about Bush's comments said legacy should remain a consideration in admissions. Admitting children of alumni helps foster loyalty and financial support for the school.
Legacy is "not going to beat out somebody who had better academic qualifications ... but it might give you a leg up," said Rich Ragan, of the University of Florida's office of admissions.
But Dewey Holleman, director of undergraduate admissions at the University of South Florida, said universities should consider heeding Bush's proposal. Legacy does not play a role in admissions at USF, he said, though the admission application does ask prospective students whether they have relatives who attended the school.
Bush's appearance at the UNITY convention, which has drawn 7,000 African-American, Asian-American, American Indian and Hispanic journalists, came a day after Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry spoke at the event.
Audience members enthusiastically applauded during Kerry's speech, but the crowd was noticeably less receptive to Bush's remarks. Some people tittered. This is the second time Bush has been invited to speak at a UNITY convention. In 1999, the presidential candidate declined to speak at the conference in Seattle but later made a brief appearance.
Panelist Roland S. Martin, a nationally syndicated black columnist, wanted Bush to clarify his views on affirmative action.
"We want to ask questions that aren't being asked on the campaign trail," Martin said. "We didn't want to ask about the war. We didn't want to ask about the economy."
Bush delivered his standard stump speech, including a defense for raising the terrorist threat warnings.
"The things he touched on in his speech weren't my concerns," said Margaret Bernstein, a reporter for the Plain Dealer in Cleveland. "This was not geared for us. This was geared for, "I'm going to defend my administration.' "
Still, it is important for the minority group to be part of the presidential campaign, said UNITY president Ernest Sotomayor. He said Kerry and Bush have agreed to visit American Indian reservations.
"Hopefully (Bush) will take that seriously," Sotomayor said.
Staff writer Catherine Shoichet contributed to this report.