A plan by the University of California to allow incoming students to declare their sexual orientation is winning praise from gay advocates, but critics charge it will create another class slated for preferential treatment.
The 10-school, 235,000-student system would make the question optional on forms known as "Statement of Intern to Register," allowing officials to more accurately track the makeup of the student body and improve programs and services, officials said. But critics claim it will simply pave the way for another group to seek preferential treatment.
Gay advocates hailed the measure, emphasizing that it is not mandatory. They compared it to other identifying characteristics routinely sought on such forms.
Writing in UCLA's Daily Bruin, columnist Kimberly Grano said the plan is not as intrusive as it might sound.
"At first glance, it might seem the university would be unnecessarily delving into a potentially sensitive subject for incoming students," Grano wrote. "However, gathering figures about how many students identify with the LGBT community could allow the university to better serve and support members of the community."
But Raja Bhattar, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center at UCLA told the station the numbers may not be all that precise.
「The sexual orientation question would likely be optional," Bhattar told the reporters. "That may mean that a sizable number of students would not respond or would do so dishonestly — skewing the results.」
While there does not appear to be a timetable for the decision, it is believed the plan could take effect in time for next fall’s admissions.
Only one other school in the country currently asks incoming students about their sexual orientation. Chicago-area Elmhurst College included the question on forms last year and 5 percent of those who answered the question identified themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered.
Yale and Harvard have considered similar measures in recent years, but have not enacted any changes to their registration process.
(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)
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(Agencies)
美國加州大學將允許申請學生聲明自己的性取向，該計劃贏得了同性戀擁護者的讚揚。但批評人士認為，這會使同性戀群體受到優待。
加州大學擁有10所分校，共23.5萬名學生。校方表示，該校的「大學志願申請表」上將把性取向列為一個可選項，這將使校方更清楚學生的構成，改進教學計劃和服務。但批評人士認為，這僅會給同性戀群體尋求優待鋪平道路。
同性戀擁護者對此表示歡迎，強調指出這一選項不是必填的。他們認為這和表格上常見的身份信息沒什麼兩樣。
專欄作家金伯利•格萊諾在加州大學校報Daily Bruin上說，這一計劃並沒有聽起來那麼讓人不安。
格萊諾寫道：「乍一看，似乎學校沒必要讓申請學生填性取向，這也是個敏感話題。但統計同性戀學生群體的人數有助於學校更好地服務和支持他們。」
但加州大學同性戀、雙性戀及跨性別者中心的主任拉加•巴塔爾表示統計數字可能並不會那麼準確。
巴塔爾告訴記者：「性取向很可能是一個可選項，這就意味著很多學生不會填，或者不會如實回答，這會使結果不準確。」
是否添加這一選項沒有準確的時間表，但據信會在今年秋季的申請表中出現。
目前美國只有另外一家學校要求申請學生填寫性取向。芝加哥埃爾姆赫斯特學院去年在申請表格中添加了性取向選項，在填寫的學生中有5%自認為是同性戀、雙性戀或者跨性別者。
耶魯大學和哈佛大學近年也在考慮類似舉措，但申請程序還未作任何改變。
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（中國日報網英語點津 Julie 編輯：陳丹妮）