<p>I just heard about this on CNN. Here is just one news article I found about the issue. Its extremely interesting!!</p>
<p>idiots. they think affirmative action is unfair? tell that to statistics. friggin more than 60% of their school is white. why do colelges have quotas on asians? america still has to work on discrimination.</p>
<p>Fighting fire with fire is a great way to lose the moral high ground. </p>
<p>Nice going BU</p>
<p>You know, these republicans keep stooping lower and lower. Why can't they simply grasp the value of affirmative action. This is so sad.</p>
<p>All the power to them. If black-only scholarships are socially acceptable, then white-only scholarships should also be socially acceptable. Personally, I think the lesson in this is that black-only scholarships are just as socially *un*acceptable as white-only scholarships.</p>
<p>I completely agree with fides. </p>
<p>Affirmative action IS racist.</p>
<p>There is nothing racist with affirmative action. Affirmative action is not about disempowering whites, but about empowering blacks/women/hispanics who have had countless opportunites taken away from all throughout history. </p>
<p>Nicole, you being a woman, should know that affirmative action and demographic-specific scholarships are beneficial to repressed people.</p>
<p>Please, tell me, if a black kids wins a black-only scholarship, how is that stopping you from doing what you want to do or succeeding in life? There are plenty of other scholarships available to whites.</p>
<p>We need to level the playing field and support diversity in higher education. That is exactly what affirmative action does.</p>
<p>I wholeheartedly agree with the opinions of Fides and nicole07. </p>
<p>It makes me cringe when people try to justify affirmative action, which is a nice way of saying "mandated racism." I really think that all scholarships based on race are wrong. Nonetheless, I feel that this caucasian scholarship is a really good way to stick it to affirmative action and the whole concept that minorities as a whole are underprivileged. </p>
<p>Before people start comparing me to Michael Richards, let me explain myself. I am in no way a racist. I feel that the Civil Rights Movement was incredibly important in American History. However, wasn't the main message of the movement to have racial equality? I don't see how allowing race-based scholarships to be acceptable for one race and unacceptable for another race would be considered "equality." I hope that someday, people are rewarded based on their merits, not based on their race or who they know.</p>
<p>By the way krnpsychopath, BU is exactly 55% white according to the College Board. This statistic should hold no bearing in the argument. All it shows is that there will be a lot of competition for the scholarship since there is such a great number of candidates.</p>
<p>If you would have taken the time to read the article, you would have realized the guy who started this whole idea was a ...
[quote]
Mattera, now the Young American's Foundation National Spokesman, a group supporting the conservative movement, said the idea was spurred when RWU administrators "compiled a list of scholarships for people of color only." Although Mattera, a Puerto Rican, would have been eligible for some of these scholarships, he said he still wanted to "expose the inequities."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Puerto Rican and benefited from AA.</p>
<p>There was a point made in the article where AA is justified by the History of the United States discriminating against minorities. I have no problems with poor black kids getting a chance to get out of the gutter of inner-city gangs, but the people who benefit most from AA are the minorities that come from a well off background. Why should a black kid who doesn't qualifiy for financial aid be aided in his process to get into college based on his race? Why should hispanics benefit from AA? When did the white majority enslave them or put them into camps? How can you use AA as a device to help out some minorities and not others (east asains and indians)?</p>
<p>IMO all race excluding scholarships should be need based only.</p>
<p>The same woman also stated that the scholarships given to minorities promote thier education. My take on this is that if they are already applying to a University like BU, they are interested in pursue a post-secondary degree. So a racist scholarship isn't an incentive to learn as a whole, but an incentive to learn at BU. </p>
<p>Why should we give preference to children of illegal immigrants from Mexico, over qualified candidates who eat sleep and breathe the US?</p>
<p>People want a mertiocracy when it comes to college admissions and they only get that at about 1/3 of the time. The other 2/3 of admissions slots go to the brawn, the underrepresented minorities, and the complete opposite of AA, rich (prodominatlly WASP) legacy students.</p>
<p>Let me put away my ever-present thesaurus and present my view on affirmative action:
How is it acceptable for a university to favor one race over another? People applaud scholarships for specific races, but when the tables are turned and whites are favored, it is immediately concluded that the said college is racist. I'm not even Caucasian and I see the hypocrisy present.</p>
<p>Wow, I'm really surprised at how many of you misunderstand AA. The ORIGINAL goal of Affirmative Action was to extend opportunity to QUALIFIED minorities that societal racism would have prevented from receiving otherwise. However, AA has been so distorted by the business of college admissions that it is easy to lose sight of this goal. </p>
<p>I see absolutely nothing wrong with Aff. Action. I believe Affirmative Action was originally conceived as an honest attempt to improve society and our democracy and I support that 100%.</p>
<p>The assumption is that racism prevents minorities from succeeding. This is very true, although less so today because of Affirmative Action. </p>
<p>So, let us not get sidetracked by how admissions reps have distorted AA. Furthermore, when discussing AA, I think we (non-minorities) should try to look down the road a little. Instead of selfishly complaining about opportunities lost, as the group at BU did, think about how much it might improve the next generation to live in a society where minorities are empowered -not because they are minorities, but becuase they deserve to be there...and they will not be looked at for their skin color, but for their true merit. The real problem with AA is that the immediate result is exactly what everyone is complaining about -unqualified minorities in positions (be it college, job) that could have gone to more qualified, non-minority applicants. You may argue that this is reverse racism -by definition, maybe...but it is this sacrifice non-minorities must be willing to make in order to overcome the racism that still plagues, and is a painful fact of American society. </p>
<p>Sometimes achieving a dream takes generations. It takes sacrifice, it takes faith, and it takes courage. If American racism was built on the shoulders of slave holders, surely it will take more than a Democratic Congress, more than one courageous man, and more than a progressive few to deconstruct. Yes it is frustrating...more frustrating to college applicants, but what AA will achieve in the end, breaking down stereotypes, (even if that means it has its faults), is definitely, no, totally, worth it!</p>
<p>Agreed, Bendrumfront.</p>
<p>I agree with bendrumfront also. We need to level the playing field for everyone.</p>
<p>I'm sensing this immature childish attitude from some people's comments:</p>
<p>He threw mud at me, so i get to throw mud at him.</p>
<p>Sorry if it doesnt make sense.</p>
<p>So you think that giving someone a scholarship is the same as throwing mud at them. I don't think that the analogy makes muc sense.</p>
<p>I believe that AA is beneficial when it benefits minorities who are disadvantaged. There are some black kids in my class who went to expensive prep schools, and I certainly hope that they did not get some blacks-only scholarship. The idea that any black, regardless of socioeconomic situation, adds "diversity" to the campus based solely on his or her skin colour is a very racist idea in itself.</p>
<p>Wait, so two wrongs are supposed to make a right?
This is so funny.</p>
<p>nbachris-</p>
<p>Affirmative Action has its faults. But societal racism is not cured at the snap of Congress's fingers. </p>
<p>It is selfish to expect a perfect system. Sure, I wish Affirmative Action only benefited the most disadvantaged minorities as well...but it's better than no system at all. And it's bound to have more positive than negative consequences.</p>
<p>"Wait, so two wrongs are supposed to make a right?"</p>
<p>No, but the second wrong might make the first wrong realize that it is in fact wrong and then stop the wrongness.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Affirmative Action has its faults. But societal racism is not cured at the snap of Congress's fingers.</p>
<p>It is selfish to expect a perfect system. Sure, I wish Affirmative Action only benefited the most disadvantaged minorities as well...but it's better than no system at all. And it's bound to have more positive than negative consequences.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I don't like the idea you're insinuating, that a black kid from the streets of Detroit is no different from a black kid from Groton because they're both black.</p>