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Student Files Complaint, Claims Code is Racist
Oregon Daily Emerald ^ | May 18, 2005 | Jared Paben

Posted on 05/18/2005 9:34:56 AM PDT by Irontank

A University student has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education claiming that a University Office of Multicultural Academic Support policy that reserves early registration into several math and English classes for minority students is an unfair, "racist practice." University senior Melissa Hanks filed a complaint Friday with the DOE's Office for Civil Rights, saying she hopes the department will investigate the classes and that the complaint will prompt University administrators to abolish the enrollment restrictions.

"I want to see these classes gone," Hanks said. "I want to see no enrollment based on race."

The OMAS administers seven classes -- Writing 121 and 122; Math 111, 241, 242 and 243; and Algebra Strategies 199 -- in which the first 10 slots of the 18-student classes are reserved for minority students. Other students must meet with an OMAS counselor on the morning of the first day of class to enroll in the remaining slots. The classes, which allow fewer enrolled students than other sections of the same course, offer more individualized instructor attention.

Linda Liu, advising coordinator and academic adviser for OMAS, told the Emerald that during the seven years she's been in control of enrollment for the classes there have always been spaces available after the initial 10 spots have filled for students willing to wake up at 7:30 a.m. and complete a five-minute pre-authorization process.

In addition to her DOE complaint, Hanks said she has also filed a complaint with the University's Bias Response Team. At least one other student, junior Matt Misley, has filed a complaint with the BRT.

University General Counsel Melinda Grier could not be reached for comment; however, the University administration released a statement Tuesday affirming that the University doesn't restrict courses based on ethnicity but that it does have programs that "try to provide unique learning experiences for students," including the one OMAS coordinates.

"This office provides services to minority students, including the coordination of class registration for a few specific courses, which attempt to create a critical number of minority students in some course sections," the statement reads. "However, these sections are available to all students and any student may take the courses in these sections as long as space is available. Courses at the University of Oregon have space restrictions designed to balance access and cost with providing individualized educational experiences. We evaluate our student programs on an ongoing basis to ensure that all students have equal opportunities to participate in a University of Oregon education."

Misley said he filed a complaint because he "felt no group of students should have to go through extraordinary means to register for a class based solely on their skin color."

Hanks said it struck her as "sad" that nobody had filed a complaint with the DOE before she did.

"It really shuts down that idea of diversity because it's not letting a group of people have a voice in a classroom setting just because of their skin color," Hanks said. "If this ends up being a big deal, I will stick by it. I will see it through. ... If they insist on discriminating based on race, I don't see any reason why I shouldn't."


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: Oregon
KEYWORDS: 14thamendment; academia; admissions; college; doe; education; highereducation; multicultural; oregon; preferences; race; universityoforegon
in which the first 10 slots of the 18-student classes are reserved for minority students. Other students must meet with an OMAS counselor on the morning of the first day of class to enroll in the remaining slots

Misley said he filed a complaint because he "felt no group of students should have to go through extraordinary means to register for a class based solely on their skin color."

Multiculturalism = racism

1 posted on 05/18/2005 9:34:57 AM PDT by Irontank
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To: Irontank

This is the only way were going to stop the reverse discrimination nonsense... law suits and or legal action.


2 posted on 05/18/2005 9:38:32 AM PDT by Nyboe
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To: Irontank

Well..there is racism and then there is racism..

Anything done in favor of everyone else at the expense
of 'white' males is neither racism or sexism...been this way since the Supremes upheld 'affirmative action' in the Baake case

The redress of past grievences is OK even if at the expense
of innocents...if the innocents are the correct sex and race.

imo


3 posted on 05/18/2005 9:39:22 AM PDT by joesnuffy (The generation that survived the depression and won WW2 proved poverty does not cause crime)
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To: Irontank

this kid is one who knows her mind! I wouldn't wanna cross her. Go get 'em melissa!


4 posted on 05/18/2005 9:39:37 AM PDT by camle (keep your mind open and somebody will fill it full of something for you.)
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To: Irontank

About time.


5 posted on 05/18/2005 9:39:48 AM PDT by mtbopfuyn (Legality does not dictate morality... Lavin)
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To: Irontank

The "Bias Response Team"? Wow. Does it have varsity and JV squads?


6 posted on 05/18/2005 9:40:44 AM PDT by RexBeach ("Anyone can see what's wrong, but can you see what's right?" -Winston Churchill)
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To: Irontank
Student Files Complaint, Claims Code is Racist

Oh, enrollment code...I thought this might be about there being more "dits" than "dahs" in Morse code...or was that more "dahs" than "dits"?

7 posted on 05/18/2005 9:40:53 AM PDT by lsee
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To: Irontank

Poor kid. She has no idea what she's in for.


8 posted on 05/18/2005 9:42:34 AM PDT by andy58-in-nh
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To: Irontank

diversity = divisivism


9 posted on 05/18/2005 9:45:52 AM PDT by Republicus2001
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To: andy58-in-nh
Poor kid. She has no idea what she's in for.

Especially in Oregon.

10 posted on 05/18/2005 9:48:53 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (This tagline will be destoyed to make way for a new Hyperspace bypass.)
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To: joesnuffy
The redress of past grievences is OK even if at the expense of innocents...if the innocents are the correct sex and race.

The way it should work is that "the redress of past grievences is OK" if the people that were "injured" are alive, can be individually identified and their injuries quantified.

11 posted on 05/18/2005 9:55:51 AM PDT by isthisnickcool (Get all the incumbents out of politics!)
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To: isthisnickcool
They are alive. This student is one of them, so she'll get special treatment to make up for past grievances right? </touch of sarcasm, but not much>
12 posted on 05/18/2005 10:03:33 AM PDT by tfecw (Vote Democrat, It's easier than working)
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To: Irontank
I don't know about Writing 121 and 122, but here are the descriptions of the other courses:
111 College Algebra (4) Algebra needed for calculus including graph sketching, algebra of functions, polynomial functions, rational functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, linear and nonlinear functions. Prereq: MATH 95 or satisfactory placement test score; a programmable calculator capable of displaying function graphs.
This is a highly remedial class.
241, 242 Calculus for Business and Social Science I,II (4,4) Introduction to topics in differential and integral calculus including some aspects of the calculus of several variables. Sequence. Prereq: MATH 111 or satisfactory placement test score; a programmable calculator capable of displaying function graphs. Students cannot receive credit for both MATH 241 and 251, MATH 242 and 252.
This is not a remedial course, but my guess is it has a huge number of sections.
243 Introduction to Methods of Probability and Statistics (4) Discrete and continuous probability, data description and analysis, binomial and other distributions, sampling distributions. Prereq: MATH 111 or satisfactory placement test score; a programmable calculator capable of displaying function graphs. Students cannot receive credit for both MATH 243 and 425.
This again is a course for non-scientists. Pretty easy stuff.

The University of Oregon would be a strange school indeed if these courses were full. I guess that preferential registration allows a student to get a section that fits into their schedule. I have no idea what Algebra Strategies 199 is, but it sounds like total crap.

13 posted on 05/18/2005 10:05:35 AM PDT by AmishDude (Join the AmishDude fan club: "Very well put, AD. As usual." -- Howlin; "ROFL!" -- Dan from Michigan)
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To: Irontank
The really nasty part will involve the school administration's explanation for the practice. It was not arbitrarily put in place. There was a reason for it's imposition but that reason will be concealed.

The reason, of course, is that in times past, blacks and minorities complained that one of the reasons they didn't do as well or graduate on time was that, all the good/required courses were filled by the time they tried to sign up.

Thus, the rules makers agreed that blacks and minorities lacked reasoning, planning and organizing skills equal to those of white students. The whites planned ahead, saw what they needed and acted, getting registered for the required/desired courses. The blacks didn't have this capability and needed some compensatory intervention to counter the white planning capability.

They can never admit this!! Neocommunists can NEVER admit that they believed blacks were less capable in any way! But, somewhere, there is a bureaucrat who figured, "To hell with the whites, let them fend for themselves, we've got to do for the blacks what they can't do for themselves."

14 posted on 05/18/2005 10:07:10 AM PDT by Tacis ( SEAL THE FRIGGEN BORDER!!!)
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