Affirmative Action - RushOnline.com
Affirmative action is a euphemism for discrimination. As my grandmother
used to say, "Two wrongs do not make a right." In his
"I have a Dream" speech Martin Luther King Jr. said,
" I have dream that my four little children will one day
live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of
their skin but by the content of their character." Since
that is exactly what happens with affirmative action, it appears
that even Martin Luther King Jr. would have opposed it.
.
* * *
College Admissions Policies. - Jan 17th '03
As a retired teacher, however, I do not share your convictions
about the quality of inner city schools. Often more $$$ are spent
there per pupil than in the "better" neighborhoods.
Many students come to school from homes where reading/learning
are not prioities. Studies show that brain development is explosive
in a pre-school child. It needs to be nurtured in order to maximize
a child's potential. Reading to a child, going to the library,
etc. are inexpensive activities which greatly enhance a child's
potential. In my opinion, encouraginging such activities is the
key to success in school. Those people who are concerned about
students in the inner city should concentrate their efforts on
the early years rather than on college asmissions.
Laurelynne
* * *
Jan 17 '03 - U of M has a goal: increase minority representation
among the student body. The methodology is to provide "special
consideration" in the admissions process.
Regardless, the policy carries many unintended consequences:
1. Perpetuating the stereotype that minorities are "victims"
who are unable to learn and compete in the academic world without
"special considerations."
2. Creating a perception that the value of the degrees that
minorities receive is tainted because of "special considerations."
3. Ignoring the fact that minority students have a spectrum
of academic success to failure... as do whites... which can
be traced to family involvement, effort, and attitude toward
the value of an education... or lack thereof.
I believe that it is more difficult (not impossible) for students
from lower economic backgrounds to compete with students from
high economic backgrounds. There are advantages to wealth... always
has been... always will be. But U of M cannot, nor should it,
attempt to fix economic disparities by lowering its standards.
Besides, there is a wide economic spectrum for both whites and
minorities.
U of M has the resources to help address the root causes of dysfunctional
education processes, and that is where its efforts should be.
Create in-school assistance programs in schools deemed under-performing.
Create seminars to explain to under-performing parents the economic
impact of their lack of responsibility. Offer free, on-site university
programs to grade school and new high school students that show
them the range of opportunities that an education offers. Create
an excitement for education. Then "special considerations"
will not be used in place of real effort.
Bruce and Kathy
* * *
As a upper middle class white father with a son poised to compete
for entry into a competitive college, I would like nothing more
then to agree with you that Equal Opportunity is simply reverse
discrimination and should be abolished, however, it's not that
simple.
Equal Opportunity is about just that, equal opportunities for
ALL. So with regard to college entry, the first question that
needs to be answered is: Is there an equal opportunity for all
races to learn in this country at the High, Middle, and Elementary
school levels?
In answering this question one must first make some assumptions:
First and foremost is, no race is inherently more intelligent
(has a greater ability to learn) then the others. If you don't
assume this, then you basically fall into the same category as
Hitler believing one race is better then another.
Second, no race is inherently lazier then the other, everyone
is as willing to work hard as the other works to achieve their
educational, professional goals.
So assuming you feel that all races have the same potential to
learn and the same motivations, it would be reasonable to further
assume given the same educational opportunities, representative
populations of each race would yield, "percentage wise",
approximately the percentages of poor, middle, high, or exceptional
achievers.
So if 5% of whites score above 1400 on SATs, and 30% score 1200
- 1400, and 50% score 900 - 1200, and the remaining 15% are below
900, then, given the assumptions above (same capacity to learn,
same education opportunities, same motivation), I would expect
to see similar "percentages" for Blacks, Hispanics,
and native Americans. You can look at GPAs, class standing, whatever
you want to use as a measurement tool, if the assumptions are
true, then the numbers should be very similar.
However, the truth is, the percentages ARE different. Blacks,
Hispanics, native Americans don't do as well as whites. Now if
they have the same learning capacity, same motivation, then the
only thing it can be is that they don't have the same opportunities.
And as research has shown, this is true. Non-whites are more likely
to go to overcrowded, under funded schools, where teachers make
less money, and where their "opportunities" are limited.
So while I may agree that some institutions may be going over
board in trying to make up the difference between those with all
the opportunities and those with limited opportunities, I'm not
convinced Equal Opportunity should be abolished since there is
still an undeniable difference in opportunities between the races
in America today.
* * *
Do you know if a study has been done regarding what percentage
of students graduate after being accepted by a quoto or diversity
program?
Karyl
* * *
Racial profiling U of Michigan
I have never heard anyone state it like this and I would love
to hear the media do so. If the minorities have to have special
treatment to get into the university then they are definitely
inferior and Senator Lott would be right if he had actually meant
that Strom T. was to be praised for his favoring segregation.
Either they can overcome the odds and succeed just like most
whites do or they are inferior. Which is it?
T. C.
* * *
I applaud and completely agree with Ms. Gratz and Ms. Grutter
who have b rought litigation against the University of Michigan.
God bless them for having the courage and conviction to stand
up for what is morally right. It is time for the US Supreme Court
to declare these morally evil race ba sed preferences to be unconstitutional!
Diversity is good if it is an outgrowth of equal opportunity.
In my o pinion, sometime during the late 1960s, the focus of the
civil rights moveme nt shifted from equal opportunity to equality
of outcome. African America n students at the University I graduated
from demanded that the University i ncrease the enrollment of
African Americans even if it meant lowering admiss ion standards.
The victims of race based preferences (Affirmative Action) policies
have a human face. For every African American student admitted
to a Universit y under these race based preferences to achieve
"diversity," there is anothe r student of a different
race who is rejected even though they have higher G PAs, SATs,
and other academic & extracurricular achievements.
As an example, many high school students in Virginia work very
hard duri ng their academic careers with the goal of being accepted
for admission to t he University of Virginia (UVA). I analyzed
data on applicants for the 20 01-2002 academic year at UVA.
UVA accepted 61% of African American applicants. This acceptanc
e rate was the highest among all the racial/ethnic groups, and
contrasted with acceptance rates of 37% for Asian Americans, 35%
for Whi te Americans, and 32% for Hispanic Americans.
African Americans offered admission to UVA had an average total
SAT scor e of 1193. This SAT score was the lowest of any racial/ethn
ic group, and contrasted with an average total SAT score of 1386
for Asia n Americans, 1368 for White Americans, and 1331 for Hispanic
Americans.
UVA did not provide GPAs for all applicants offered admission;
only for those who accepted admission. The average GPA of an African
American in U VA's fall 2001 entering freshman class was 3.7.
This GPA score was the lowest of any racial/ethnic group, and
contrasted with an averag e GPA of 4.0 for Asian Americans, 4.0
for White Americans and 4.0 for Hispan ic Americans.
Why should African Americans be given such blatant race based
preference s in the college admission process? Why should better
qualified students of other races be denied admission? Why should
today's generation of Whit e, Asian, and Hispanic children be
discriminated against and punished for th e sins of slavery and
segregation that they have no personal responsibility for?
The American Dream should be available for all people to pursue
and not be an "entitlement" for African Americans because
of racial quotas!
Sincerely,
Harry
