An Inclusive Litany

5/5/97

A New York Times news article covering a statement made by presidents of 62 universities in favor of "diversity" and defending affirmative action programs featured an unusual headline: "62 Top Colleges Endorse Bias in Admissions." But the next morning's edition featured an editor's note which called the headline "an editing error." According to the correction, " 'Bias,' as a term for affirmative action, was neither impartial nor accurate. It should not have appeared." The preferred way to describe what the university presidents endorsed would have been: "the right of colleges to use affirmative action in their admissions procedures to achieve diversity," a phrase that probably would not have fit neatly within the column.