Oklahoma Bans Race-Sensitive Admissions in Higher Education

Voters in the state of Oklahoma voted by an overwhelming margin to amend the state constitution to prohibit the consideration of race by any agency of the state in decisions regarding hiring, contracting, or admission to educational institutions. More than 59 percent of the voters approved the measure.

The amendment reads, “The state shall not grant preferential treatment to, or discriminate against, any individual or group on the basis of race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contractings.”

Oklahoma is the eighth state to ban the consideration of race in university admissions. Blacks make up about 8 percent of the state’s population. The latest data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that Blacks are 5 percent of the undergraduate student body at the main campus of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater and 5 percent of the undergraduate student body at the flagship campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman.