Saving the Top 10 Percent
January 13th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Former Senator Gonzalo Barrientos took in the senate pageantry from the sidelines today during opening day ceremonies at the Capitol. A member of the Texas House for 10 years and the Texas Senate for 20, Gonzo knows his way around the Capitol. In 2006 he retired from his senate seat representing Austin and Central Texas.
So what brings Barrientos back to the pink granite dome? Barrientos says he’s here today to remind Democrats to stick up for the Top 10 Percent rule, which he says is in peril. Barrientos passed legislation a decade ago to allow the top ten percent of a high school graduate class automatic entry into the University of Texas. Proponents of the legislation say it has been instrumental in increasing the number of minority students entering the university. The UT system says it is at capacity and can’t guarantee the automatic entry of so many students.
Doing away with the top 10 percent rule will be a lightning rod issue for the senate. Barrientos’ successor Senator Kirk Watson toyed with the idea of altering the legislation last session. Barrientos says he will be circulating the hallways to remind Senators not to renege on their commitment to the 10 percent rule.
“The university has a lot of authority and power and will try to muscle it through,” he says of legislation to do away with the Top 10 Rule. “And there are democrats here who would vote to get rid of the top 10 percent rule. I’m here to remind them of why we passed it.”
