Roxanne Winston isn't surprised she is the only black student in her chemistry class. Black students are a tiny fraction of the 23,000-student campus of the prestigious University of California at Berkeley.
What shocked the pre-med major was her classmates' hesitation at picking her as a lab partner. The way she read the looks on their faces: "They didn't think I would be able to do the work."
The demographics of California's universities have been under scrutiny since that time nearly a decade ago when Proposition 209 eliminated affirmative action in university admissions, government hiring and contracting, a similar proposal to one being put before Michigan voters next month. Today, the percentage of students who are black is about half of pre-Prop 209 levels, and Hispanic student enrollment is still disproportionately low.
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"People still think we get here on preferential treatment," said Winston, 19, of San Diego. "I don't know how many times I've been asked if I'm an athlete because of the color of my skin. I'm not athletic, and I know I don't look athletic."
Michigan voters next month will decide Proposal 2, a nearly identical initiative to Proposition 209, that has become one of the most divisive issues this election season.
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