Is this legal for my college to ask? And what should I do about it?

I was registering for my spring classes online, and before it would let me do so, there was a mandatory questionnaire. This involved standard contact info, but also this: http://imgur.com/mKTSn.jpg mandatory questions on race, gender and ethnicity. I was under the assumption that they could not require students to provide such information in the United States. Am I wrong? Is this legally/ethically acceptable?

I'm not really offended by the question, and I'm not a minority. I just don't see how the question is relevant. I know that they need to provide equal opportunity information to the state/nation, but is it proper for them to require such information be provided?

I have no interest in causing any trouble, just stopping my college from getting shut down because some bureaucrat didn't run the form past the lawyer.

Edit: Technically, this form seemingly has nothing to do with admissions. However it is a required question on a mandatory form. Moreover, this form is required to be filled out before one is allowed to register for classes. In this context, it doesn't seem ethical or necessary to require a person to answer questions about their gender and race before allowing them to sign up for class next semester.