Credit: Flicker
A whistleblower has come forward with explosive claims that race-based admissions policies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have severely degraded the quality of its medical school, prompting a stern warning from tech mogul Elon Musk about the potential for patient deaths due to medical incompetence.
Long hailed as a premier institution, UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine has seen a precipitous drop in its standards, according to damning evidence and interviews conducted by the Washington Free Beacon.
The institution, which annually attracts up to 14,000 applicants, accepted just 173 in 2023, a record-low acceptance rate of 1.3 percent. The median matriculant took difficult science courses in college, earned a 3.8 GPA, and scored in the 88th percentile on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT).
In November 2021, during a typical admissions committee meeting, concerns were raised about an African American applicant whose academic credentials significantly lagged behind UCLA’s stringent standards.
Elon Musk, the tech mogul known for his outspoken opinions on social issues, reacted strongly to these developments.
“People will die if doctors misdiagnose patients,” Musk tweeted.
People will die if doctors misdiagnose patients https://t.co/VDZnIfe0HL
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 23, 2024
Jennifer Lucero, the dean of admissions, vehemently argued that the candidate’s lower scores were inconsequential given the need for doctors who represent diverse backgrounds.
“Did you not know African-American women are dying at a higher rate than everybody else?” Lucero reportedly challenged, emphasizing the importance of diversity over traditional metrics of academic excellence.
According to sources within the university, since Lucero’s tenure began, there has been a noticeable decline in the performance of students on standardized tests essential for their medical careers.
The whistleblower pointed out that some students admitted under these revised criteria were unable to perform basic medical procedures or diagnose common conditions during their rotations. More than 50% of certain cohorts have failed their basic exams.
The whistleblower claims are supported by internal emails and performance data revealing that under Lucero’s tenure, UCLA’s ranking plummeted from 6th to 18th in U.S. News & World Report’s list for medical research.
Several admissions officials allege that race is often discussed explicitly in admissions decisions despite California’s legal bans on such practices. This has led to accusations against Lucero and her office of lowering admission standards for certain racial groups while maintaining high barriers for others.
It can be recalled that the Supreme Court ruled last year that the Harvard and UNC race-based affirmative action programs are unconstitutional. Schools nationwide will no longer be able to discriminate against students on the basis of race.
All but eight states used race-based affirmative action. The states that did have affirmative action at all prior to the ruling were California, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Arizona, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Idaho
Last October, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two separate cases about the consideration of race in college admissions: Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. University of North Carolina and Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard University.
At stake in the Harvard case was whether the university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against Asian-American applicants. The UNC case concerned the school’s unwillingness to adopt a “race-neutral alternative.”
The universities involved claimed race was one factor among many used in a while assessing student applicants and that their processes respect precedent.
The conservative group involved in the lawsuits, however, said that the colleges were engaging in reverse discrimination by using race as an admissions factor.
As reported by Fox News, one Asian American student, Jon Wong, was rejected by six elite colleges despite having a 1590 SAT score. He said this was due to affirmative action.
The post Whistleblower Claims Race-Based Admissions Have Turned UCLA into a ‘Failed Medical School’ — Elon Musk Warns of Risking Patient Lives with Incompetent Doctors appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.