However, the study showed that while admission rates and enrollment rates for blacks, Hispanics and American Indians changed only modestly, the number of applications from these groups dropped. The University tried to make sure minorities had a good shot at being accepted. Affirmative action has two roles, added Hirschman. With it, an institution bends over backward to be fair and even takes an extra look at minority candidates. There is a certain amount of anxiety in going away to college.
Affirmative action helps take away some of that anxiety.
Wierzbicki said passage of I-200 also might have discouraged high school counselors from recommending the UW to minority students. The researchers believe that the drop in minority enrollment at WSU probably had as much to do with the 1998 Rose Bowl as with I-200. Applications at WSU increased across the board for 1998 admissions following the publicity surrounding the school s appearance in the Jan. 1 bowl game. In 1999, the number of applications from all racial groups fell. While the percentage of black, Hispanic and American Indian students declined at the UW, the percentage of Asian American students continued to climb, rising from 24 percent of the freshman class in 1998 to 26 percent in 2000.