When UC Berkeley implemented race-blind admissions in 1997 it was one of the only major public schools in the country doing it, now, with the help of anti-affirmative action activist Ward Connerly, the movement has swept the nation. And guess who's hurting because of it? Both UC Berkeley and UCLA have had trouble recruiting black students in the past 10 years, and the University of Michigan is stuck between a mandated scaling back of race-based admissions and trying to promote diversity.

University of Michigan officials say they won't defy the ban on race-based admissions, but they won't give up on diversity.

"We don't believe that we can deliver a 21st-century education if we're not a diverse learning community," said Julie Peterson, associate vice president for media relations and public affairs.

The year Brooks enrolled, 14 black students were admitted to UC's Boalt Hall School of Law, but none attended. He'd been admitted the year before but deferred admission, making him the last black student admitted under the old affirmative action policies.

Last fall, 13 black students enrolled, a big increase from 1997 but still below the mid-'90s totals of 20 or more.

And with more blacks and Hispanics graduating from high schools now than 10 years ago, the gap between those numbers and UC enrollment has widened.

"The bottom line on Proposition 209, from where I sit, is it has continued to suppress enrollment," said Ed Tom, director of Boalt admissions.

But does it matter if the numbers of black students dip at elite campuses?

"Not to me it doesn't," said Connerly. "As long as all of our kids have an equal chance to get an education."

Well, Connerly, I'm shocked that you've been so successful in your anti-affirmative action movement with such shoddy logic. Our nation's kids should not suddenly have equal chances for education when they turn 18 when the quality of public schools in our country varies greatly based on the racial, ethnic, and economic makeup of a school's population. Why should college be "equal" if no other form of education is?