Legislation to prevent discrimination in colleges and professional schools because of race, religion or national origin, was urged by the Philadelphia Fellowship Commission, which represents the united effort of the community to promote equal rights and equal opportunities for all people.
At a hearing before the Philadelphia Committee on Higher Educational Opportunities, held at City Hall, David L. Ullman, local attorney who is vice president of the Fellowship Commission, presented for the first time in public a series of documented studies and surveys.
A 25-year study of admission practices in 14 professional schools in the Philadelphia area showed that with few exceptions, the professional schools studies admitted an average of less than one percent of Negroes in any of their classes; eight out of 14 schools studied admitted an average less than five percent of students of Italian extraction, only four admitting more than 10 percent (Hahnemann Medical -12.5 percent; College of Osteopathy – 11 percent; Temple Law – 10. 5 percent; Temple Dental – 10 percent.
In the case of Jewish students, an average of less than 15 percent was shown from classes of 1936 through 1960 at four professional schools – Penn Medical (13.7 percent), Jefferson Medical (12.2 percent), University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (11.8 percent) and Temple Medical (10.7 percent).
A five-year study of the experiences of pre-medical students from the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University also showed a definite pattern of discrimination, declared Mr, Ullman. The study showed that every single Protestant student with an “A”and “B” average was accepted by some medical school. Irrevocable evidence of discrimination was revealed in the experiences of students on the “B” level where two-thirds of the Protestant students were accepted by some medical school. However, on the same scholastic level, only one-third of the Jewish students and only one-fourth of the Catholic students were accepted by some medical school. However, on the same scholastic level, only one-third of the Jewish students and only one-fourth of the Catholic students were accepted by some medical school.
A third survey of application for admission forms revealed by Mr. Ullman showed that of the 32 Philadelphia schools in the area studied, 19 schools–or 59 percent–request information which may disclose an applicant’s race, religion or national origin. Throughout Pennsylvania, three out of every five colleges and professional schools still request such information.
As a result, the Fellowship Commission called upon the Philadelphia Committee on Higher Educational Opportunities to approve and recommend legislative safeguards and enforcement machinery to prevent discrimination because of race, religion, national origin, sex, or socioeconomic status. Such legislation would apply to all post-high school educational institutions except that religious controlled and financed institutions should be permitted to restrict admission on a religious – not racial – basis. All state aid, whether direct or indirect, should be conditioned upon non-discrimination and non-segregation by all post-high school colleges and professional schools.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
