<p>It is fascinating to note the number of “progressives” that laud President Nichol’s efforts to increase diversity. And to a point, I support his efforts too. But lets be honest, given the massive achievement gaps in this country, any meaningful increase in diversity would have to come about from the practice of granting considerable preference based on race - in other words, engaging in racial discrimination, at a public university no less. What really would have been courageous is for Nichol to take a stand that W & M is going to rise above the insipid morass of racial identity politics, and state that we value contributions and achievements without any regard to race or national origin - whether it be admissions, faculty recruitment or the like.</p>