Proposition 209 was passed by referendum in California in 1996. After legal challenges were settled, the proposition went into effect in 1997. The 1998 freshman class within the University of California system was the first to feel the effects of the ban on affirmative action.

Some people believed that Proposition 209 would dramatically decrease the numbers of minorities being admitted to and enrolling in University of California schools. Others believed that there would not be a dramatic affect.

What affect do you think Proposition 209 had on minority enrollment in University of California schools?

The Web sites listed below will help you analyze how Proposition 209 affected the numbers of minority students enrolling in University of California schools between 1996 and 2000. To assist you in the analysis, record the data in the attached chart.

Download Analyzing the Impact of Proposition 209

• Examine the differences in numbers of students enrolled between 1996 and 2000.
• Identify any trends you see immediately after Proposition 209 was in force. Proposition 209 took effect in 1997.
• Identify any other trends you notice between 1998 and 2000.

Read the report by the University of California.

To what extent does the report help explain any of the trends you noticed in the raw numbers data from the schools?

Use the data gained from your research to respond to the question below.

1. In your review of the data, how did Proposition 209 impact the percentage of minority students enrolling in University of California schools?

2. What does the University of California say about the numbers of underrepresented students enrolling at the University of California schools versus the percentage of the student population that these groups represent?

3. Which of these two statistics, numbers or percentages, is more important in analyzing the effects of Proposition 209?

4. What underrepresented students maintain a presence in UC schools?

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Activities
    The Case

•	You Decide: Who Should Be Admitted?
•	Classifying Arguments in the Case
•	A Comparison of the University of California at Davis' Admissions System to that of Harvard
•	Background Information on Affirmative Action from the Affirmative Action and Diversity Project

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    After the Case

•	The Court Revisits Bakke 25 Years Later: The Michigan Affirmative Action Cases
•	Drawing Mixed Reactions: Political Cartoons in Response to the Michigan Affirmative Action Cases
•	The Race Neutral Admissions Race

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