at the local y, we have individuals with down's syndrome checking you in at the desk in a high activity job, digging for your card, taking an EXTRA 10 minutes to figure out how to spell your complicated last name...don't be frustrated every day with the wait, because that would be intolerant..
in high school, because we are mainstreaming, a down's syndrome student urinated and defecated on himself, went to the bathroom, carried the soiled underpants into his classroom, and then became so frustrated that he knelt in the hall in front of his locker and masturbated.
yeah, this is the richness of diversity. fair to one and all.
Ask David Horowitz or any student who tries to come out in class on the other side of this debate. What a dreamworld this statement requires one to live in.
Seems to me like just another half baked liberal argument that “diversity” will increase the “vigor”, “vibrancy”, and “enrichment” of the college campus.
I suppose I’m supposed to believe that just because this sweet sounding liberal says so. The fact that this policy routinely recruits blacks and Hispanics who are ill equipped to succeed in particular colleges, serving the dual purpose of wasting their time and finances (not to mention potentially souring them on higher education) as well as creating the impression amongst their more qualified (but not due to racial set-asides) white and asian students that they are somehow less intelligent.
Owl_Eagle
” WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH"
Bull poop!
Who cares how "vigorous" the "discussions" are. This is just more liberal gobbelty-gook-double-speak-pablum. What matters is the quality of education the students receive. What "challenges" do students with inferior qualifications bring? Answer: none - thanks to Affirmative Actions and the theory of Disparate Impact, they only dumb down the standards. High standards are what drive students to a higher level, not "diversity" or "vigorous discussions".
I got to admitt I stopped reading right here after this straw man statement. No one is trying to deny the existence of integrated schools by challenging affirmative action. It would be more accurate to say that students would be better matched to colleges that teach to their level.
Just stop it.
Once government stops obsessing over race, maybe society at large will follow. The Federal Government shouldn't know what percentage of House District 3 in Arizona is "Native American"; how many Oriental students attend San Diego State University; how many black coaches there are in the NFL; or how many "non-black Latinos" are eligible for reduced-price lunches in the Richmond Public School System.
Just stop it.
Race-based policy is getting tougher to administer all the time. Should Koreans be given the same preferences as blacks in college admissions? If so, why not Indians (from India)? What about first-generation Swedes, who, while having the misfortune of being blond, may have the "advantage" of having English as a second language?
And what to do about those of mixed ethnicity? Where do you draw the line? In some Southern states, you used to be (and may still be, for all I know) considered black if you were an octoroon (that is, one great-grandparent was black). But what if great-granddad was himself only 7/8 black? That would make you just 7/64 black; would you then have to compete for a place in a state-operated law school just like "white folks"? What if you were able to prove that via another branch of your family that in addition to being 7/64 black, you were also 1/64 Sioux, or Aleut, or Puerto Rican? If you get your ethnic shopping cart back up to 1/8 full, do you get the bonus points you need on your application?
Just stop it.
What if you're black and successful? Should you still be given advantages? Ask Harvey Gantt, who served as Mayor of Charlotte, and who twice ran for the Senate. Harvey, who is black, was and is a talented architect, and is principal of a successful firm. He used his race to acquire a large interest in a television broadcasting license which had been set aside for "minorities." Did the new "black TV station" benefit the black community at large? Don't be silly. Harvey's group immediately flipped it to a white group and pocketed a handsome profit; the station now shows Seinfeld reruns and old (white) movies.
As long as we keep affirmative action in place, we'll perpetuate racism by casting a pall of suspicion on those we purport to benefit. That black guy with the Michigan Law School diploma -- would he have gotten in if not for his race? And more seriously, what about that black neurosurgeon with the MD from North Carolina -- is he really qualified to be in the operating room? As long as preferential admissions (and promotion) standards exist, we'll never know.
Just stop it.
Make a list of Affirmative-Action supporters.
When their kid needs a brain-surgeon, they get to choose among M.D.'s who got thru medical school on Affirmative-Action "gimmes".
When they need an architect or civil engineer, ditto. They may only employ those who graduated from A-A programs.
"Affimative-Action Airways" will use only airplanes designed by affirmative-action aerospace engineers, and flown by affirmative-action pilots. (Not to mention maintained by A-A mechanics). They'll have to select "A-A Airways" whenever they fly.
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Most of us want highly competent, top-notch specialists in life-or-death matters. The Affirmative-Action crowd wants us to have to settle for second- (or third- or fourth-) best. Seems only "fair" to make certain that they do, too.
--Boris