He's been talking about this for some time:
"We also need to address legacy admissions. Many schools reward applicants because their parents went to the same school. Instead of valuing parents who have worked for years so their child could be the first in their family to go to college, these schools actually put that child at a competitive disadvantage based on his parents' education.
"There's no question many legacy students are highly qualified and tremendous additions to their schools. They can be admitted without any preferences, and they should be. Unlike affirmative action, which I support, the legacy preference does not reward overcoming barriers based on race or adding diversity to the classroom. The legacy preference rewards students who had the most advantages to begin with. It is a birthright out of 18th century British aristocracy, not 21st century American democracy. It is wrong.
"So today I want to challenge America's colleges and universities. If you have an early decision policy, end it. If you have a legacy policy, end it.
"This isn't an area where government should have to act. We can help by making absolutely clear that our antitrust laws don't stand in the way of cooperation by schools to open the doors of college. But schools should live up to their ideals and America's ideals on their own.
"If schools don't end these policies, then other action may well be necessary. Kids from the kinds of families I grew up with already have to fight an uphill battle to get to college. They don't need additional barriers that stand in the way.
"You know, the fiftieth anniversary of Brown versus Board of Education is approaching. That anniversary should serve as a reminder to all of us—about how far we've come, and how far we still have to go. We've gotten rid of segregated schooling, and that's good. Our best public schools are the best in the world, and that's good. But the state of too many of our schools remains the shame of our nation. In fact if not in law, we still have two school systems, still segregated – now because of wealth more than race – but still separate and unequal. Two school systems was wrong in 1954 and it is wrong in 2002.
"There is no royalty in America. People who mow the lawn or change the sheets for a living deserve as much respect and as much opportunity as the most powerful people in the country. All our children deserve the same chance to make the most of their gifts, to rise as high and as far as their talents and work will take them.
"That's the great promise of America.
"Our job is to make sure we keep it.
"I believe we will, if we are true to our ideals, and strong enough to act on them."Education Policy Address by Senator John Edwards
University of Maryland, November 21, 2002
http://edwards.senate.gov/speeches/2002/educ_11-21.html
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