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Posted on 01/21/2003 10:21:01 AM PST by Chi-townChief
I have the perfect solution to the affirmative action debate. Instead of limiting the use of race in college admissions, as President Bush has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to do in the University of Michigan case, the school should expand the pool of persons getting special consideration.
That's right. How about an admissions policy that takes everyone's race, heritage, ethnicity, background and disability into consideration.
Indeed, affirmative action opponents make a compelling argument. I can understand why white students would be upset that their academic performance is given less consideration than race.
I was just as ticked off when I applied for my first job out of high school and was told, sorry, the office wasn't hiring a black secretary no matter how qualified I was.
Still, challenging the University of Michigan's diversity program as "unconstitutional" is too easy. Fixing the multitude of wrongs that gave birth to affirmative action in the first place is a lot harder.
But most of us are not up to tackling the real problem. That would be like asking a fat man to jog up the stairs. Of course he'd rather waddle over to the escalator.
Instead of ending the biases that have created an unequal playing field, we've used affirmative action to address the inequities that exist between preschool and college.
Frankly, a lot of white people still don't acknowledge they enjoy any privilege in this regard.
Except for dirt-poor rural areas, most white students aren't stuck in dilapidated and crowded schools. In Chicago, for instance, the best chance of finding a white student in public school is to go to one of the magnificent schools like Walter Payton, Whitney Young or North Side Prep.
Still, a lot of white people don't believe that unequal schools play a large role in how students turn out. They tell me that black kids would achieve the same academic success despite their disadvantage if their parents would get involved.
Parents who are actively involved in their children's education can certainly respond with a "now what?" They've provided the support their children needed to excel in their high schools, and the education gap remains.
Although many do, top black students who come from poor schools can't be expected to perform at the same level as white students who come from wealthier ones.
Instead of arguing about whether race should matter, what's wrong with giving everyone a break?
A parent who is struggling to send his or her child to a prestigious university would appreciate the extra points no matter what they are based on.
I'd give every person who was brought up by a single parent and who grew up below the poverty line 20 points. If such a student--white or black--managed to get into a prestigious state university despite the odds against them, God bless 'em.
Forget jocks and chess players. Any black person whose first name begins with "La" should get an extra 20 points now that we know, according to a recent study by the University of Chicago, they are likely to be the last ones hired no matter how well they do in college.
Kids of the working class--the bus drivers, postal workers, pipe layers, clerks, baggage handlers and bicycle messengers--should get an automatic 10 points for uplifting the next generation.
Under my system, "legacy" points would be awarded to the offspring of every janitor, cook and gardener who has worked at the university.
That would compensate for all the mediocre students who slip in because Daddy or Mommy is an alum or because some rich uncle waved his checkbook under a trustee's nose.
The highest points should go to the children of immigrants.
You have to wonder how these kids survive. Many of them arrive unable to speak the language. You see them sloshing through the winter with soggy shoes and light jackets clutching their notebooks with gloveless hands. Their parents don't speak English, so they can forget about getting help with homework. Besides, how much time does a parent have to help a child when they are working two or three jobs, low- paying jobs, to make ends meet.
Additionally, every girl or boy from an impoverished drug and gang-infested urban ghetto who graduates from high school without becoming a teenage parent or getting caught up should get at least 15 points.
After all, it is tough to survive in an environment where violence and sexuality is often celebrated over academics and abstinence.
On the other hand, anyone who comes from a well-to-do, two-parent family and still earned average grades and mediocre test scores should be penalized 10 points.
Fair is fair.
No one should be rewarded for squandering privilege.
E-mail: marym@suntimes.com
How's that for a marriage penalty? I wonder if Ms. Mitchell's head hurts when she gets these ideas.
With special considerations given to OTW (other than whites) I suppose. So, if two white middle class people have a child and two black middle class people have a child, both of whom perform equally well in school and are EXACTLY the same on ALL other qualities, the black child would STILL get special consideration JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE BLACK. After all, race is STILL one of the considerations.
Crikey! Does this woman claim that this behavior still exists? I believe there's a Constitutional Amendment that speaks to this issue -- and loads of lawyers eager to assist in such a circumstance. Of course, that Amendment protects both black and white (and purple) from such discrimination. Which is the whole point, though this nitwit fails to grasp it.
If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)
Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.
Seems another columnist gargles with whiskey.
Why don't the arrogant elitists at U of Michigan get off their aristocratic asses and actually recruit the best and the brightest from all the high schools with predominantly minority populations?
Oh, but I forget, that might require they actually leave their posh homes and offices, go into the poorer sections of the country, and actually live the platitudes they mouth.
We can't have their actions match their words, can we? Heaven forbid!
Parents who are actively involved in their children's education can certainly respond with a "now what?"
Now what? How doing this now: quit voting for the race pimps who refuse to fix screwed up schools or refuse to fire incompetent teachers? How about voting for a candidate who will work to improve school by making hard and honest decisions instead of the one who panders to your wants and couldn't care less about your needs? How about demanding excellence from your kids and stop making excuses for poor behavior and misconduct? How about demanding that your schools teach things like reading, writing and math and real history and citizenship instead of diversity and tolerance for every deviant behavior under the sun? How about quit blindly voting every other November for the idiot with the (D) behind his name and voting for the candidate who best reflects your values?
How about that!
< /rant >
I appreciate how the writer of this article is working so tirelessly against discrimination, stereotyping and bias in society. Fat people everywhere applaud her effort.
I have a great idea. Affirmative action for people who do not earn ehough "affirmative action points."
Here's how it works. Assign points for race, poverty, legal status, parental status, criminal status, etc. with a maximum of say 1000 points. Total up all of the points. Since life is unfair and not everyone will earn enough "affirmative action points", give everyone enough "free" points to reach the level of 1000 points.
Affirmative action for people who fail to qualify for affirmative action.
Umm, didn't they try that or something very similar at CCNY/NYU during the '60s?
And wasn't that such a stellar success, too?
Not hiring black secretaries? Maybe she ran up against the non-quota quota to the extent that the company needed a disabled person, or a token person of non-color?
Maybe even a rabid Muslim of Arab extraction? How about a former mistress of Jesse Jackson? Or a campaign worker for Conyers? Bonior? Clinton?
The joke is: You give one guy points for bieng black, then you give the other guy points because he wasn't lucky enough to be black. Everybody ends up getting the same number of "affirmative action points."
So the points don't matter anymore.
The horrific failure of the program doesn't get too much publicity.
Quite frankly, it screwed up a lot of people that would have been better off in different educational venues. Whether that means a different college, a trade school, a stint in the Armed Services, whatever.
I meant: Everyone would keep their merit points and then add 1000 "affirmative action points."
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