The authors, Carey and Horiuchi, Dartmouth College professors holding named chairs, and Clayton, an undergraduate student, begin with the following proposition: “The media, politicians, and the courts portray campuses as divided over diversity and affirmative action.” As their book title suggests, the authors set out to determine if a “hidden” campus diversity consensus exists for using “underrepresented” group preferences in admissions and faculty hiring. It probably will be a surprise to most readers that these preferences are a “hidden” consensus on campus. The educational establishment and elite campuses consistently boast of their support for diversity actions and have added staff to implement a wide variety of diversity programming.
The authors, however, employ an unusual research method to show that students as well at a selective group of campuses are on board with the diversity train. The research method is called
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