High Court Weighs Affirmative Action
As a victim of affirmative action working against my "color" when attempting to get into college out of high school (1980), I sincerely hope that the Supreme Court weighs out the flaws of affirmative action being implemented in the college level of education and rules to change the neglect that the fairer skinned American citizens suffer in an effort to "be fair" to everyone.
I think, in the last forty+ years that this country has come a long way in dealing with issues of race. Not that there is still not room for improvement in jobs and positions of government, but denying anyone a college education, based on their skin color, while handing a college education over to someone else,
based on their skin color, is beyond wrong in this day and age.
Quote:
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(from the opening link: "On the undergraduate level, all black, Latino and American Indian applicants to the University of Michigan receive receive 20 bonus points on the university’s 150-point scale that determines who is admitted.")
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The American Association for Affirmative Action describes themselves as "dedicated to the advancement of affirmative action, equal opportunity and the elimination of discrimination on the basis of race, gender, ethnic background or any other criterion that deprives people of opportunities to
live and
work." (emphasis mine)
I don't have a problem with equal opportunity being enforced when segregating schools on an elementary level, or when qualified individuals are vying for the same job but this country's college-age student population is far more diverse than it was when I was laughed out of a financial aid office for being a white girl, far too diverse to call only African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans minorities when in some areas of this country whites ARE locally minorities.
Who is speaking for the Asians, and those of Middle Eastern descent at U of M??
This isn't the first time since affirmative action was implemented into our society that it has been
attacked or
discussed regarding the effects it can have on a society as a whole.
Dr. Mark Cooray,
in articles discussing the development of affirmative action in universities in Australia makes points that can easily apply to this country as well:
Quote:
"...to respond by establishing the elaborate apparatus of nationalized discrimination manifested in the continuing spate of ill-considered affirmative action legislation is no answer: it merely ensures the perpetuation of the problem in a more pervasive form.
It is time to stop and consider the self-interested, illusory nature of the affirmative action movement, and to re-establish effective principles of equity, non-discrimination and merit, before any more social and personal damage is done."
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If you are wondering where people like Timothy McVey come from, take a hard look at how single white men are treated in this country, being held responsible for carrying the financial burden of drug addicts and human baby factories in our Welfare programs, having to pay more taxes because they are single but being denied a better education because they are white.
Can you blame them for being angry?
Is our society going to keep looking the other way because someone wants to label it "racism" if they are treated as fairly as everyone else?
"Reverse racism" is still racism.
Affirmative action has its good qualities in a society where it is needed but not abused. To implement it on a college entry level is abuse, by the institutions who use it to bankroll their government-issued finances, and by those who would deny ANY qualified student entry based on race alone.
Merely stating that quotas are aginst the law does not mean that loopholes will not be used to disguise them which is IMO what the University of Michigan is doing.
Affirmative Action Register
A site dedicated to employment of qualified individuals through Affirmative Action. Use Affirmative Action to get yourself employed, not to deny any citizen an education.
[ 04-02-2003, 07:01 PM: Message edited by: Lil Lil ]