Lawmakers favor white candidates over minorities in service academy nominations: report 4 days ago Cadets from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point march during the 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21, 2013. (Staff Sgt. Teddy Wade/Army) Nominations for admission to military service academies by members of Congress disproportionately favor white students, which in turn may hurt future leadership opportunities in the ranks for minority groups, according to a new analysis out today from the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center and the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School. From 1994 to 2019, roughly 74 percent of nominations from current members of Congress to the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Military Academy at West Point went to white students, even though they made up just 54 percent of the eligible student pool.
By NIKKI WENTLING | STARS AND STRIPES Published: March 17, 2021 WASHINGTON – Members of Congress nominate white students to military service academies at disproportionately high rates, leading to an underrepresentation of minorities there and among the military’s pool of general officers. The Connecticut Veterans Legal Center explained the discrepancy Wednesday in a report titled, “Gatekeepers to Opportunity.” Researchers analyzed data from 1994 to 2020 using congressional nominations to the country’s three largest service academies: U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Military Academy at West Point. White students received 74% of nominations from lawmakers, despite comprising only 54% of the total U.S. population age 18 to 24, researchers found. Only 6% of the nominations went to Black students, and 8% went to Hispanic students.
Report reveals which Members of Congress nominated most, least students of color
Credit: AP
In this image provided by the U.S. Air Force Academy, academy cadets start the school year with a mix of reduced class sizes and remote learning on Aug. 12, 2020, at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. Under the siege of the coronavirus pandemic, classes have begun at the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. But unlike at many colleges around the country, most students are on campus and many will attend classes in person. (Trevor Cokley/U.S. Air Force Academy via AP)
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