While the Supreme Court will hear a case concerning the use of ethnicity as a determining factor for university admissions, a UNM official said ethnicity is only one factor it considers in evaluating a student's application.
Robert Desiderio, dean of the UNM School of Law, said his school's admission criteria places the highest emphasis on an applicant's residency -- because UNM is the only New Mexico university with a law program.
"We seek to admit mostly New Mexico residents," he said.
Desiderio said that ethnicity is an important factor, but admissions officials at the school place a greater emphasis on diversity in a student's age, social background, geographic location and gender.
When students apply to UNM, they are given the option to volunteer their racial background. The University is required by federal law to request a student's ethnic information.
Desiderio added that when a student's law school application is evaluated, test scores, undergraduate experience and several other factors are considered so the student is evaluated as an individual -- not as a member of a race.
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"We don't separate the students into separate piles for race or ethnicity," Desiderio said.
UNM's School of Law has received several awards for ethnic diversity. One of the most notable being an award presented in August by the American Bar Association honoring it as having the nation's most diverse students, faculty and programs.
Desiderio said diversity is an important component of the UNM School of Law. He added that about 60 percent of its students are female.
The issue before the Supreme Court could have far-reaching implications regarding affirmative action at institutions of higher education.
The issue stems from the University of Michigan Law School rejecting white students' applications while accepting minority students with lower test scores.
Suellyn Scarnecchia, the current associate dean of clinical affairs at the Michigan law school, will replace Desiderio as dean in January.
In a March interview with the Daily Lobo, Scarnecchia said she was impressed with UNM's diverse community.
UNM students had mixed reactions to the news of the Supreme Court agreeing to hear the ethnicity admissions case.
Annie Lovato, a senior secondary education major, said schools and universities should base their admissions criteria solely on test scores and that the person with the best scores should be admitted.
But, some students perceive the case to be more complicated.
"It's hard to say one way or the other," said Doug Price, a senior biology major.
Price said that by basing admissions criteria on scores, it is not fair to minority students because they traditionally receive a lower quality of education. He said criteria tests should focus more on capabilities rather than learned knowledge. But, he said, the problem is a difficult one to solve.
"Either way you make the cut, someone will get screwed," Price said.
But some think diversity is important and should not be overlooked.
"I believe that all universities need diversity," said Chris Williams, a freshman psychology and sociology major. He said that UNM has a good level of diversity and added that universities and schools should evaluate applicants as individuals, not as members of an ethnicity.
