Affirmative Action In America Is A Total Failure

TBI ^ | The Economist

[blam]

Affirmative Action In America Is A Total Failure

The Economist
Apr. 27, 2013, 10:00 AM

.

Reuters - University of Michigan students Ruben Duran (L) and James Justin Wilson protest affirmative action in front of the Supreme Court in June 2003.

WILLIAM POWERS is the president of the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin). Lino Graglia holds an endowed chair at its law school. Both have kindly demeanours, impressive records and that crucial perk of academic success, offices with great views: Mr Powers looks out over the heart of the university’s campus, Mr Graglia at its football stadium.

They also hold strong and opposing opinions on whether admissions to their state-run university ought to take account of race. Mr Powers believes that using "race as one factor in an overall holistic view of the candidate" helps the university build a diverse campus, an achievement which has "an educational value for all of our students". Mr Graglia thinks "lower[ing] standards to admit members of preferred groups" is "a bad idea".

America has a number of policies and practices designed to increase the presence of minorities in various areas of life from which they have historically been excluded. But the role of such affirmative action in university admissions has garnered the most attention. Schools and universities provided many of America’s desegregation battlegrounds. And gaining entry to America’s elite universities is difficult; the perception, right or wrong, that race can in some circumstances trump merit strikes many as unjust, not least because universities play a large role in social mobility.

The Supreme Court is about to weigh in on the matter. In March it agreed to hear a case that could determine whether a state

(snip)

US Supreme Court Could Let States Completely Destroy Affirmitive Action

[blam]

Demographics (Race) Overtakes Economy as Prime Presidential Election Indicator

[Jane Long]

Affirmative Action In America Is A Total Failure

Yes. It's forced us to stop looking at the content of ones character.

[puppypusher]

Affirmative Action is Not really over.Afterall we have the First Affirmative Action resident in the history of the United States of America and our Economy Proves that.

The Man Knows nothing and the Media Treat him like he’s deserving of the office he holds.

[cripplecreek]

Look at the bizarre reason the appeals court gave for overturning the Michigan AA ban.

The court says the ban puts an extraordinary burden on those who have to mount a long expensive campaign if they want to protect it.

US Court Strikes Down Michigan Affirmative Action Ban

Apparently all the time and money that went into getting the ban passed by a vote of the people didn't matter.

[COBOL2Java]

Affirmative Action In America Is A Total Failure

I think the last 4 years and several months have been Exhibit A...

[wrench]

Affirmative action leads to a dumbing down of America in both the academic and the business world.

Is it any wonder our economy is drifting like a rudderless ship?

[Roccus]

Make that the last 40 years!!!

[Oratam]

A friend of mine explained it like this. Elitists, both left and right, find discussion of Affirmative Action ridiculous as it cannot affect them.

If it can affect you, you're not worth talking to.

[rawcatslyentist]

>"Is it any wonder our economy is drifting like a rudderless ship?"

When corporations value ethnicity and sex preferences over fiscal results, is it any wonder our economy looks like it's been taken over by pigmy lesbians?

[falcon99]

Actually, it has been a success — it put a total incompetent in the White House. And that is what it does, puts unqualified or low qualified people in positions because of their race, not their qualifications