President Bush has decided that in place of affirmative action in universities, he would like to see "affirmative access." He wants to have the top 10 percent of graduating seniors automatically admitted into college.

I believe that the students in the top 10 percent probably do deserve this; however, I do not think Bush realizes that this is, again, going to be beneficial for the rich white men.

First of all, the top 10 percent means that the weight is placed on one's grades. Whether or not we like to admit it, there are still racist and sexist teachers in our society. They give out the grades.

But let's assume that racism and sexism no longer exist: There are still class issues. The students in the top 10 percent could probably afford tutors, educational field trips, extracurricular books and magazines, SAT preparatory classes, etc.

Obviously, Bush did not come from a family where he was expected to work while attending school, had responsibility for younger siblings or had other situations that would keep his grades from being their best. I think race and ethnicity still need to be taken into account in the admissions process, especially when there are about 6 million college-aged Hispanics and Latinos and only 14 percent of them are enrolled in post-secondary education.