A heated debate is taking place in Olympia over whether to amend Initiative 200, a ballot measure that Washington voters approved in 1998 to prohibit the state from giving preferential treatment to racial minorities in such areas as hiring and admission to colleges and universities.

Bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate to serve a limited purpose by allowing college admissions officials to consider the value of a diverse student body as they make the difficult choices that determine who’s allowed to enroll and who’s not. Higher education leaders say that preparing students for today’s world and the global economy that dominates it demands that they have a culturally rounded experience on their way to a degree. Initiative 200 interferes with schools’ ability to provide it.

Opponents of the corrective legislation have misrepresented it as a repeal of the 1998 initiative, a thwarting of the public will.

Hardly. As Initiative 200 backers stated in the 1998 Voters Pamphlet, “It prohibits only those programs that use race or gender to select a less qualified applicant over a more deserving applicant for a public job, contract or admission to a state college or university.”

That wouldn’t change under the proposed legislation. Bans on racial quotas and set-asides are likewise unchanged. Race could not be used to make an unqualified student eligible for admission.

The proposals now under consideration would merely give universities the flexibility to examine – as they do numerous other subjective credentials included in the application process – the contributions that minority students could make to the campus community. If a student’s experiences in community service, or participation in such extracurricular activities as music and sports add luster to his or her academic qualifications, why not the ability to deal effectively with the personal manifestations of racial diversity?

University officials believe that would add value to their system. After more than six years of experience with Initiative 200, it’s reasonable to consider refinements that would improve the higher education experience for all students, regardless of race.