Burnt Orange Report

I am simply in awe of this new Republican minority outreach campaign. Karl Rove is a stinking genious.

Byron, I think few people would argue that modest outreach for minorities is a bad thing. But the extremes to which it has been taken! Should being black REALLY be worth the same to your entrance to a university like, say, Michigan as scoring an perfect score on the SAT?

The fact of the matter is that minority students are simply not as well prepared, on average, for university-level work (particularly at elite institutions) as white and Asian students. Now, we can work to change that (e.g. the TEXAS Grant which disproportionately benefits non-white students AND ensures they are prepared for higher education), but just throwing unprepared minority kids into university is not the solution.

"Why is it then, that white students are disproportionately represented at almost every major university? Why is it that Whites have better jobs, make more money, and why is it that an equally qualified White person is more likely to get a job than an equally qualified Black person? Institutional racism is alive and well in America, and while affirmative action is an imperfect long-term solution, it's critical to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans."

Byron,

Well, it might have a lot to do with the sucktacular state of inner city public schools. Over 50% of 8th graders in D.C. are functionally illiterate. D.C. is 2/3 black. You get similar, although not quite *that* bad, numbers in other major cities like Detroit, which are also predominantly black. If you can't read, or don't have a basic education, a lot of doors are closed to you without racism ever being involved. A HS diploma from an inner city high school might technically be equal to one from a suburban school, but every employer will know the difference.

A lot of the problems America has with apparent "racism" could easily be solved with improving educational opportunities for minorities. Like, say, with vouchers so inner city children can attend schools that actually work ... wait, no, we can't do that. That might decrease the money we spend on public schools, and that would be much much worse than condemning a generation of children to perpetual poverty.

Sherk

I'm predicting that they give the scholarship to a conservative minority student who writes in about how affirmative action has created a stigma around him and white people think that's the only reason he's there (because, you know, that's the fault of the policy and not those persons...).

Also FYI, up here in Rhode Island, the Chairwoman of the state Republican Party has come out denouncing what the Roger Williams crew did, saying that it isn't the kind of views they'd endorse and that the scholarship has strongly "racist overtones" (I have a link to the story on my blog). Myself and some others from College Dems here are headed over there (Bristol is a 15 min. drive from Providence) in a few days to meet with people from their Dems chapter and some other student leaders at the forefront of this all to gauge the situation and how this all might be responded to, so I'll be sure to keep people posted on that now that this has seemingly spread (oddly enough, from the continental US' smallest and most Democratic state to its Republican-dominated largest).

The progressive and minority community need to realize something about affirmative action. You cannot legislate tolerance, it must be taught, fostered, and nurtured. The goal of affirmative action is to bring about a change towards less racial division, by evening the playing field and making White America "sees" minorities in positions of middle-class status, making them less "mysterious."

However, instead of bringing about less racial division, the fact cannot be denied that that affirmative action remains very divisive, and in this respect is failing miserably. Many whites feel that they compete in "zero-sum-gain scenarios" and are disadvantaged by affirmative action. This concern cannot be downplayed or discounted. Remember, you cannot legislate tolerance. Therefore, if White America's "hearts & minds" are not being won over to the ideas of tolerance, then something needs to change.

The answer is not race-based affirmative action, but rather class-based affirmative action, and the sooner the progressive & minority communities accept this, the better. As a practical matter, minorities will still be the primary beneficiaries since they disproportionatley populate the lower socio-economic strata. The idea of class-based affirmative action is also acceptable to all but the most reactionary elites. Who can be against giving someone a "leg-up" when he/she struggled through really hard times?

The point is that the beneficiaries will more or less remain the same, it will be fairer, and most important, it will be perceived as being fairer, thereby preventing backlash and reaction, which will ultimately get us to our goal of racial harmony a lot faster.

Who, the reasarch, at least in Texas, is that class-based affirmative action would sharply reduce the number of minority students being affected.

Don't be diverted from the obvious. Follow the money. This is obviously nothing more than another scam from the right wing foundations like the Olin, Bradley and Scaife people. They shake a few dollars to some college ne're-do-wells, who wouldn't get anywhere on their own, and get a lot of publicity as a result. It's their modus operandi.

Blue,

If in fact the research shows what you say, then that would mean that a substantial number of minorities have moved up the socio-ecomomic ladder, and that THOSE that did so move up do not need the "lift-up" that affirmative action provides. This would say a lot for the progress of socio-economic advancement for minorities over the last several years. I am a little skeptical of the numbers, but if it is true, it kind of proves my point - that the resources would be better spent on those individuals in the "lower classes", who need the help the most.

Race is not not always a proxy for disadvantage - they unfortunately often, if not usually coincide, but not always. A true class-based affirmative action helps minorities when disadvantage and race do coincide, without the appearance of unfairness and the backlash that occurs with it when they do not coincide.

Who, it is really just a question of numbers. Minorities are, well, MINORITIES. Shifting to a class-based preference system results in a shift of emphasis to lower-class majority race students simply by virtue of the numerical basis of each group. For instance, if blacks are 10 percent of the population of the state and have an underpriviledged rate of 50 percent and whites are 60 percent of the state and have an underpriviledged rate of 20 percent, that means that the 5 percent of the population that is black population would recieve preference compared to the 12 percent of the population that is white; in other words, over twice as many poor white students would recieve preferential treatment.

Omar Lopez has done some work on this.

Given that the SAT is worth shit, I'm willing to concede that minority status should be worth at least as much as shit.

GOODAY TO ALL.

IT IS A LOVELY OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WHAT YOU FEEL IN SUCH A LOVELY MANNER.
THE 21ST CENTUARY IS AN ERA OF SPEED AND ADVANCEMENT.YET IT IS STILL AMAZING THAT IN SOME COUTRIES IN THE WORLD THERE IS DISCRIMINATION.THERE ARE SEVERAL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION MUCH OF WHIICH YOU AREADY KNOW.I COME TO YOU MY FELLOW BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO INFORM YOU OF ANOTHER TYPE OF DISCRIMINATION.IT IS CALLEED INTELLECTUAL DISCRIMINATION.THERE EXIST SOME SCHOOLING INSTITUTIONS WHICH CONTINUE TO BEHAVE IN THE ARCHAIC MANNERS OF THE PAST 10 CENTURIES.THEY DELIBRATELY REFUSE TO PROMOTE INTELLECTUAL REASONING INSTEAD FOCUS THEMSELVES ON THE FACTUAL PRINCIBLES WHICH MAKE NO SENSE IF THEY ARE NOT DIGESTED.

OUR FOR FATHERES NEWTON SCHRODINGER HEISENBERG PAULI ENSTEIN SUCCEED IN THEIR ACIEVEMENTS BECAUSE THEY REFUSED TO CONFINED IN A WORLD WHERE THE TEACHER IS THE ONLY MASTER.IT IS TRUE THAT TEACHERS ARE SO IMPORTANT IN THE TRANSMISSION OF KNOWLEDGE YET SOME USE IT T CONFUSE AND DIS ORIENTATE MANY STUDENTS WHOM HAVE VOWED NOT TO JUST COPY THE REASONING OF THEIR TEACHERS BUT TO THINK ALSO.

I WISH TO BE GRANTED THE OPPORTUNITY MY FATHERS HAD .THE OPPORTUNITY YOUR FATHERS HAD.AS HENRI POINT CARRE SAID."LA PENSEE ET COMME UNE ECLAIRE DANS LA NUIT MAIS C EST CETTE LUMIERE QUI EST TOUT".
SO LET WE USE OUR BRAINS.THANK YOU FOR ALL

Why blame others for what they are meanwhile we are not so different?.
Why blame others for what they are not meanwhile we are the same?.
conclusion:even tough we are different we are all alike.

Hi, I am a junior in high school and i came across this article while avoiding doing my lab work for a certian class. :) I found the essay to be very profound and I'd like some more elaboration on what exactly is being said here. Thanx for making me think!!!