<p>I hate to butt in like this because this conversation is not going in any comfortable direction, but I think you just pointed out a key difference between your situation and "theirs." You had the example of a parent who worked to raise you in as good an environment as she could, and you were able to feed off of that. When people are locked into a cycle of poverty and whatever else you want to call it, when their parents provide no reason to work harder, when their friends and any possible type of influence they may have end up being more of a hindrance than a help, how are they supposed to get the motivation to push themselves to go harder? They don't see anything to strive for.</p>
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when their parents provide no reason to work harder, when their friends and any possible type of influence they may have end up being more of a hindrance than a help, how are they supposed to get the motivation to push themselves to go harder? They don't see anything to strive for.
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<p>and so they'll sit and wallow in endless misery? quick! call the psychiatrists before they start slashing wrists!</p>
<p>but joking aside, they were the ones who chose their friends. as I said, I practically raised myself. I'm quite distant from my parents, and I still don't see too much of them.</p>
<p>the people I talked about are not in the depths of poverty -- they are lower middle class, to be exact. they are not on full welfare either, I don't believe. if they were able to afford pseudo-designer clothing, I see no reason why they shouldn't be able to sit at home and study. they had computers. they had cellphones. I don't know how much useless extravagance they might have to have before they're "not poor" enough.</p>
<p>the rise in wealth, if they want it; their own futures; their own paths -- isn't that enough to strive for?</p>
<p>affirmative action is best done socioeconomically, not racially</p>
<p>its way, way more impressive for an urban youth whos in poverty to suceed in high school and extend himself than it is for me, rich kid in rich county who has everything i could ever want or need</p>
<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9qbhSuzHzs%5B/url%5D">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9qbhSuzHzs</a></p>
<p>down with AA</p>
<p>"Millions of dollars to get a kid into college? He probably should have donated that money to a charity that helps rich white people evade taxes and perpetuate their own supremacy."</p>
<p>Umm no lol, he contributes to the school because its his alma mater.</p>
<p>And if what im gathering from this thread most of you are less fortunate right?</p>
<p>"Take me for example, my mother raised me alone for...well, 3 years at least (I only have a blurred memory of my father living with us when I was 5). She worked afternoon to night shift at JDS, and I practically raised myself in our apartment complex. What do those statistics predict as a future scenario for me?</p>
<p>I went to the same school system as those black kids I spoke of. It's not a bad school at all -- one of the best I've been to. People ruin their own lives."</p>
<p>or saying things like</p>
<p>"There's this kid in my grade who lives a block away from my family's one story shack, whose house is likely one of the top 5 largest in our city."</p>
<p>So since you are all saying things like this. I would like to know why your parents arent successfull. I mean my father was an immigrant and look how far hes come. Should I say that since your parents arent as successful as mine that they were lazy and wisted away and had no drive? Or where they just not offered the same resources?</p>
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[quote]
So since you are all saying things like this. I would like to know why your parents arent successfull. I mean my father was an immigrant and look how far hes come. Should I say that since your parents arent as successful as mine that they were lazy and wisted away and had no drive? Or where they just not offered the same resources?
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<p>what I say is what I know of the situation. I brought up my own life because it's what I know best, and instead of theorizing about the "middle class" I gave you an example of the middle class. I don't believe it's the job of a community to help those less fortunate at the expense of those who can help themselves.</p>
<p>my parents were not ultimately successful simply because they were first-generation immigrants. they had the language barrier to overcome, a new culture to absorb, and etc.</p>
<p>I don't hold it against them. neither do I hold it as some badge of honor. I'm upper-middle class, so I honestly don't really mind.</p>
<p>AA sucks!!!!! It really isn't fair! It should be based on grades, rank, essays, etc. I don't think we should even put our race/nationality./ what ever else. It really gives unfair advantages.</p>
<p>It's crappy if you are caucasian, but I feel there are still not enough minorities in higher education. I do believe that we should get rid of it within like 5 - 10 years, when things have hopefully balanced out a bit.</p>
<p>Admissions should be based on who and what you are and not what color you are but AA isn't = Unfair</p>
<p>Not enough minorities get the chance to go to college = Unfair</p>
<p>Unfair + Unfair = Fair ???</p>
<p>"It's crappy if you are caucasian, but I feel there are still not enough minorities in higher education. I do believe that we should get rid of it within like 5 - 10 years, when things have hopefully balanced out a bit."</p>
<p>Definately, no one wants it to remain in effect forever but things do need to balance out.
AA is so minimal that it is the last thing considered although it is considered.</p>
<p>
[quote]
So since you are all saying things like this. I would like to know why your parents arent successfull. I mean my father was an immigrant and look how far hes come. Should I say that since your parents arent as successful as mine that they were lazy and wisted away and had no drive? Or where they just not offered the same resources?
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<p>Yeah, my parents are lazy bastards. Their resources were plentiful...</p>
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<p>Well, I didn't make it and I'm blaming affirmative action. There's nothing wrong with that. I hate affirmative action because I am Asian and it screwed me over just like you love it because it will probably benefit you in the future. This is how a democracy works.</p>
<p>a778999, you've said elsewhere that your essays were fairly crappy. Have you considered that this particular scholarship might weight essays far more than SAT scores or GPA? You described yourself elsewhere as a "self-proclaimed best example of senioritis." How can you expect that a college wouldn't figure out something of the sort from your essays?</p>
<p>If you want to make a difference let's follow the example of Brown- minority in the Presidency of colleges and univ. Let's take a good look at Admissions offices nationwide. Why are most of the Admissions Deans WHITE? Or do they know more about diversity issues? Perhaps someone has a statistic on who makes up the population age/race/ethnicity in admissions offices.</p>
<p>I really don't know if racial AA is necessary.<br>
I would like to see research and data showing what the racial distribution of a selective college campus would be if only socioeconomic AA is used.</p>
<p>Can someone explain to me this: many people on this thread have made the arguement that blacks have suffered more than people of other ethnicities and should therefore be able to reap the benefits of AA. I don't understand this because it is implying that you [who said it] are basically attempting to get retribution for slavery through AA, which I don't believe is possible. How can centuries of slavery be avenged through some college admissions? YOU did not personally suffer from this rampant racism (though you may have been exposed to some discrimination), so why you YOU have the benifits of AA for things that occured generations before your admission to college?</p>
<p>Somebody also seemed to imply that blacks had suffered from segregation for almost all of history, until the civil rights movement, and that Jews ONLY suffered in the Holocaust and Asians ONLY as a prejudice from WWII. I beg to differ. Please correct me if I am wrong, but to my knowledge Jews have been persecuted for thousands of years. Have not you ever learned of Ancient History? The Roman Empire? Jews were discriminated against at nearly the same levels as blacks: they were shunned from society and banned to jobs as bankers/loaners, which were looked down upon because they were meddling with money, which was against biblical beliefs. Jews were at the lowest classes of society, on par with slaves. The tragedy of the Holocaust was only a culmination of these anti-semetic tendencies. </p>
<p>And Asians? Though maybe not on the same level of intensity as blacks or jews, asians have been discriminated throughout history as well! During the industrial and progressive eras, Asians immigrated to America and forced to work on railroads and in dangerous mines b/c of a lack of other employment possibilities. The Chinese Exclusion Act? [if you couldn't tell, it prevented immigration of the chinese]. During the late 1800s and 1900s, Asians were discriminated against just the same as blacks and jews in America. And then internment camps during WWII stirred up even more prejudice.</p>
<p>I believe that the people attend TOP universities should be those willing to sacrifice as much necessary for a good education, be responsible for the success of their education, and willing to take action to get what they need get a good education. No, a person living in the projects of NYC will not have the same opportunities as someone living in Westchester County, NY, but if they really wanted, they can do their best in school, do extracurricular activities, and if those are not offered where they live, they can enter competitions. Living in a downtown city area, this individual can, if they wanted, have access to several museums, libraries, and other resource centers, and have great opportunities for jobs and internships. If a person is not willing to go so far to get a good education, maybe they should not be attending a top university.<br>
Of course, someone living in a wealthy area, such as Westchester County, NY, might have easier access to certain extracurriculars such as acclaimed varsity and club sports, school sponsored organizations, etc., but this advantage would be taken account in a system of socioeconomic AA.<br>
Also, I don't think that a white person living in the projects has any more of opportunity than a black person living in the projects. </p>
<p>wow that was a lot, lol.</p>
<p>Here's a suggestion: AA for ugly people.</p>
<p>Ugly people get discriminated against all their lives. They get paid less, people act less politely towards them, and many times, they are routinely made fun of for their ugliness. They are put down so much that they often lose confidence in themselves and their ability to achieve.</p>
<p>Ugly people have no opportunity to get into very appealing careers like modelling and broadcasting, and are given much less of a chance to find a job in acting, politics, massage therapy, and prostitution.</p>
<p>Also, beautiful people have a much higher chance to get into a good college. When ranked on a scale of 1 to 10, high school seniors rank, on average, at a 6.2, but college freshman rank quite a bit higher at 7.6. Even more compelling is the fact that college freshman accepted to the nation's top 50 schools rank at an 8.2, a full two points above that of the average high school senior. It is plain to see that beauty and lack thereof play an integral , albeit unwarranted, role in college admissions.</p>
<p>Pretty absurd, right? Well it's the same idea as AA: that some unforeseen force coming from one's skin renders one unable to achieve academically. It's ugly people's own fault that they lose confidence when made fun of, just like it's minorities' fault when they lose confidence when confronted by a few racists.</p>
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<p>[sarcasm]Oh right, I forgot that I wrote that I have senioritis in my essay![/sarcasm]</p>
<p>They're not psychologists, just people in charge of the donations they receive. After writing and rewriting and having a teacher's help, I'm pretty sure my essay wasn't a liability. Besides, senioritis is NORMAL!</p>
<p>I personally know one of the people on the committee. She told me this round of selection was primarily based on SATs, GPA, and awards.</p>
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Here's a suggestion: AA for ugly people.
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<p>haha. very nice.</p>
<p>iin77 maybe colleges didnt want you because your a screw up and a overcompulsive liar .. I mean look at some of the things you post you go from saying you live in a one room shack to things like ...</p>
<p>"I know you may think I'm another average rich kid whose parents push them too hard, and who was never really that talented in the first place"</p>
<p>Or maybe you didnt get in because as yoou said </p>
<p>"First, my grades for <em>this</em> trimester are all F's for now, lol. Actually, Physics is an A. I've been dropped from one class--AP German--"</p>
<p>That doesnt sound like someone who was the victim of AA it sounds like someone who is now looking for a scapegoat.</p>