State Representative Kyle Mullica, a first-generation college graduate and one of the sponsors of the bill to bar legacy admissions, said he remembered being asked on college applications where his parents went to college, and it made him question whether colleges really wanted him. "We want to be focused on merit," he said. The bill itself outlines the rationale for the new state requirement as being about increasing the diversity of students at state colleges. "In Colorado, there are significant racial and socioeconomic disparities among students who enroll in higher education institutions," the bill states. "Roughly 63 percent of white students in Colorado and 67 percent of middle- to high-income students enroll in a bachelor's degree program directly from high school. Conversely, only 42 percent of Latino students and 47 percent of low-income students enroll in a bachelor's degree program directly from high school."