324 million minorities IN HIS EDITORIAL “Einstein v. Roberts” (25 March, p. 1371), S. J. Gates Jr. describes how minorities can add to the creative scientific process by bringing a diferent perspective. He misses the point. Minorities bring their own perspective to every aspect of life, not just physics, and their views, insights, and approaches have the same value—no more, no less—as those of the rest of the population. We must continue to ask what unique perspec- tives each group brings to each field of investigation. By asking this question, the answer will become obvious: It is not about minorities; it is about recognizing the value of every individual. Trying to remedy the victimization of minorities by isolating them as diferent only results in the reversed vic- timization of nonminorities, and the social conflict never ends. Let’s start a new trend: Let’s agree that the United States is home to 324 million minorities. That is my challenge. Sonsoles de Lacalle Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA. Email: delacall@ohio.edu 10.1126/science.aaf8874 Misrepresenting A. Fisher v. U. Texas IN HIS EDITORIAL “Einstein v. Roberts” (25 March, p. 1371), University of Maryland Physics Professor S. J. Gates Jr. recounts two anecdotes. In one, an African-American student provides a key insight that allows a group of students to solve a math problem. In the other, Gates relates his own success to his “idiosyncratic framing of problems.” In neither case does Gates provide evi- dence that it was his or the student’s racial background that was responsible for their success or contributions to society. For all the reader knows, the “uniqueness” of their ideas was the result of an experience and had nothing to do with their race. Given that Gates is writing in support of the University of Texas in the current A. Fisher v. University of Texas Supreme Court case concerning race-based afrmative action programs, one further statement of his is especially misleading. Referring to his own long ago admission as a student to MIT, he says, “If MIT had been legally bound then to admissions based solely on test scores, I would never have been admitted.” In fact, no college or university has ever based admis- sions “solely on test scores.” It is wrong for Gates to imply otherwise and to imply that this is the issue currently before the Supreme Court. Stuart H. Hurlbert Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA. Email: hurlbert@mail.sdsu.edu 10.1126/science.aaf9588 Response DE LACALLE MAY be surprised to learn that I agree with her. I lived diversity long before I knew the word. I have benefitted from extraordinary mentoring by many individu- als, most of them European-American men. I continue to appreciate the contributions of each such individual mentor, including my collaborators, postdocs, and research students. I have not lived a life that permit- ted the internalization of a victimization perspective. Afrmative action should never be used to reward the demonstrably less-qualified over the more so. Comparing diferent candidates, it is scientifically impossible to precisely measure the merit or potential of each individual. We should admit this and, within such narrow limits, work to eliminate unfair privilege (1). Hurlbert objects to my anecdotes, which I included to illustrate a well-researched fact: Diversity can catalyze enhanced creativity and innovation in a number of circum- stances, including classrooms (2). Students have few opportunities to experience this change of perspective in the absence of broadly diverse classrooms. Hurlbert also claims that universities do not base admissions solely on test scores. The University of Texas automatically admits applicants in the top 10% of their high school class (3). These students comprise 75% of the freshman class. Ms. Fisher, the plaintif in the Supreme Court case, was not in the top 10% and was thus evaluated under a holistic review involving an Academic Index (AI) based on class rank, grades, SAT scores, and a personal achieve- ment score of six factors (4). Of the factors, “special circumstances” assesses seven attributes, including race, to provide context and shed light on the applicant’s relevant personal qualities. Based on UT’s Supreme Court brief, even with a perfect Personal Achievement Score, Ms. Fisher would not have been admitted. Technically, Hurlbert is correct that the University of Texas does not consider test scores alone. Practically, test scores are weighted so heavily, even for the 25% of admissions slots filled by students outside the top 10% of their high school class, that other factors become trivial. The recent Supreme Court ruling in A. Fisher v. University of Texas aligns well with the ethical foundation I proposed (1) over 20 years ago. These principles have now been judged to support practices sanctioned by the constitution. Sylvester James Gates Jr. Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA. Email: gatess@physics.umd.edu REFERENCES 1. S. J. Gates Jr., The Scientist 9, 12 (1995). 2. Scott E. Page, The Diference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools and Societies (Princeton Univ. Press, 2007). 3. Texas Admissions, Admissions decisions (https:// admissions.utexas.edu/apply/decisions). 4. Texas Admissions, Freshman Application Review (https:// admissions.utexas.edu/apply/decisions/freshman-review). 10.1126/science.aag2134 Minorities and bias: The big picture THE RECENT NATIONAL Institutes of Health (NIH) announcement about the launch of three “experimental interventions” to determine whether there is bias in the NIH grant process is a step in the right direc- tion (J. Mervis, “In efort to understand continuing racial disparities, NIH to test for bias in study sections,” ScienceInsider, 9 June). However, grants are only one part of the greater bias that scholars of color encounter in their academic careers. The opportunity to address this bias begins with improving representation in academia. Black professors account for about 5% of full-time faculty in higher education (1). Latino and Native Americans Edited by Jennifer Sills LETTERS 22 JULY 2016 • VOL 353 ISSUE 6297 357 SCIENCE sciencemag.org PHOTO: © LOVRO77/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM Published by AAAS