I Hate Affirmative Action!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Applying to College
21

<p>The key problem tody with AA is that it no longer primarily benefits the lower socioeconomic applicant. Many benefiting from AA are from middle, upper middle and upper class families. Check out the Pell grant stats at elite schools and compare this data to the minority stats reported. AA's initial intent may have veered. Does it mean it is time for a change? Or will AA become a part of the process as legacy, family connection or athletes?</p>

<p>Keep in mind, that there are other colleges besides the name top 25 where AA students can be given an opportunity and thrive.</p>

22

<p>I agree with a few of the other posts...you don't know enough to make a judgment about Steven and Cindy. Maybe Cindy had better essays, better recommendations, and/or better interviews. Some schools are also starting to keep track of how and which students make contact with them beforehand. Maybe Cindy was more pro-active about this than Steven or maybe the schools felt that Cindy's academics and priorities were more challenging. Regardless, the difference in their GPAs and SAT scores is definitely not large enough to warrant a comparison...or a relation to affirmative action policies. There are a million reasons that can explain why Cindy got in to certain schools that Steven didn't...and AA is only ONE possibility.
But a good point is brought up...these things aren't thought about...the color of Cindy's skin will be a burden for the rest of her life...not only bc of racism...but because <em>some people</em> will only see her as a kid who got into good schools bc of her race, instead of what she can potentially offer.</p>

23

<p>I TOTALLY AGREE ON THE UNFAIRNESS.
those who take advantage of this "reverse racism" are those blacks and mexicans who are extremeley well off in the first place. Me being asian, my grandparents were farmers.. and now we're selected AGAINST for working hard? if you need to base it on anything, atleast base it on FAMILY INCOME.</p>

24

<p>"But a good point is brought up...these things aren't thought about...the color of Cindy's skin will be a burden for the rest of her life...not only bc of racism"</p>

<p>One important point that has not been brought up is that the color of her skin has also been a burden for all of her life and will continue to be. In US society, this would have been the case whether or not affirmative action existed.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, white Americans have unearned privileges simply because of the color of their skin.</p>

<p>As Dr. Peggy McIntosh, a white Wellesley professor, wrote on a famous essay, "I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was "meant" to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools , and blank checks."</p>

<p>Here are some things she refers to that white people routinely do as a result of white privilege:</p>

<p>"I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.</p>

<p>I can be pretty sure that my children's teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others' attitudes toward their race.</p>

<p>I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.</p>

<p>I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the "person in charge", I will be facing a person of my race...."
<a href="http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/%7Emcisaac/emc598ge/Unpacking.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~mcisaac/emc598ge/Unpacking.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Or as Robert Jensen, a white professor at University of Texas, wrote in a famous essay:</p>

<p>"
When I seek admission to a university, apply for a job, or hunt for an apartment, I don't look threatening. Almost all of the people evaluating me for those things look like me--they are white. They see in me a reflection of themselves, and in a racist world that is an advantage. I smile. I am white. I am one of them. I am not dangerous. Even when I voice critical opinions, I am cut some slack. After all, I'm white."
<a href="http://racerelations.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/%7Erjensen/freelance/whiteprivilege.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://racerelations.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/%7Erjensen/freelance/whiteprivilege.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

25

<p>People please AA is a way for American conscience to be soothed. Because we never recieved our 40 acres and a mule promised to us, i'd much rather recieve my full ride and acceptance into top UC's.</p>

<p>There are alot more racist institutions in the US than AA, but as Giantsfan previously stsated AA is racist for all the right reasons, unless you've beeen to an all black school and seen the education they recieve (horrible) than you won't understand</p>

<p>AA was not actually meant for Cindy but for that poor inner city kid who dodges bullets (literally) to and from school but still manages to get decent grades. Cindy and me are just taking advantage</p>

<p>IS that wrong really?</p>

26

<p>"IS that wrong really?"</p>

<p>Yes</p>

27

<p>
[quote]
If you think that the ultimate injustice stems from universities admitting and awarding scholarships to students of minority races and low financial incomes over well-off whites, try to remember that some of those unfortunate students might have spent their entire lives toiling in fields to regularly pay off supermarket and housing expenses that many of us throw away in a second for a mobile phone or a new pair of jeans. Isn't that a greater injustice?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I have another POV on your question about justice. Where IS justice? </p>

<p>Race aside, many seem to feel that we will forever need to make up for injustices of the past...why? I'm sorry they happened, but I did nothing unjust to anybody. Some of my ancestors were treated unfairly, but what's done is done. Those who perpetrated the injustices are long dead.</p>

<p>Some have the opinion that those who overcame some adversity (economic or otherwise) should have an edge...why? If I lack musical talent but practice alot to get into Julliard, does it make any difference? If I lack mathematical ability but work hard at it, should I get into MIT? The final product is what matters, not how hard I had to work to achieve it (IMO) Where is justice if subjective intangibles enter into the equation? The fairest thing for colleges to do is to admit that they are not necessarity striving to admit the best students.</p>

<p>PS - If this sounds like "sour grapes", it is not. My S got into every school he applied to.</p>

28

<p>Oh geeze...</p>

<p>You should know that high SAT scores and good EC's aren't enough to get into a good college. Did you ever stop and think for one minute that maybe she wrote a good essay, maybe her resume (though maybe not academically impressive) was one that made a lasting impression on the admissions officers?</p>

<p>And people say that black people are the ones who use color as a crutch.</p>

<p>It seems to me that you should be complaining to the admissions at UC, Harvard, etc. Not the people on this board who either could care less or who can't do anything about it.</p>

29

<p>I hate AA too - all those 10 generations of less-than-qualified rich white folks taking up all the places, all of whom are now legacies to boot! Euw!</p>

30

<p>"I hate AA too - all those 10 generations of less-than-qualified rich white folks taking up all the places, all of whom are now legacies to boot! Euw!"</p>

<p>Yeah, cause all white people are descendents of rich landowners. None of us could possibly be second or third generation immigrants who aren't legacies at any of the elite schools.</p>

31

<p>oh PULease... i HATE AA soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much... i mean its not even just the whites... being asian you KNOW how much it sucks. just because you're asian, anything under 1500 is crap... just because every other asian has a 4.0, a 3.95 means you suck. if i was african america, my stats would be WOOOOOOWWWW... just because they already have 30% asians in their school means they want to "diversify" their campus with others of a different race with lower stats</p>

<p>why the hell does it even matter how "diversified" your school is?? i mean... if i was native american, heck i could get into harvard with 1200. yeah, sure there was injustice, but com'on... was their no injustice to china in the past?! INJUSTICE is a 


LAME

excuse to give benefits. u think only african americans work 2 jobs to buy groceries? </p>

<p>i dont come from a rich family; i work 30 freaking hours a week, 12 hours a day on the weekend, 6 hours on friday night, with 6 AP classes. u think a chinese restaurant is gonna say, "oh... we cant make her work 12 hours, that's against the law" when they got a load of illegal mexicans working for $800/month full time? yeah... life is harsh, and not only african americans know that. </p>

<p>u know what, i cant even begin to tell the ad comm how difficult it is, because nobody will believe what goes on in a chinese restaurant. nobody will believe someone works from 10 to 11 with no breaks and get paid $15/day and have to work xtra hard to make good tips. nobody will believe that they give you fifteen tables and make u be your own busgirl.. in an american restaurant they give you FIVE lousy tables. it may look like im making $20/hour, but this $20 comes from hell of a lot hardwork. u think all chinese people are collegebound with professors for their parents? just because a story is untold doesnt mean the hardships do not exist</p>

<p>i read my apbio book during WORK, i mean... i have to work twice as fast so that when my tables are set, i can have a chance to read.. because if i dont, i know ill get home at like 11 and have 60 pages to read by tomorrow.. and thats not including calc, physics, or english homework</p>

<p>seriously... do u see me in a record store all day watching my life walk by and then saying, "oh, i didnt get equal opportunity for college".. no, because i work my a-ss off and what do i get: an african american or native american gets accepted and i dont just because they want to "diversify" their campus. its not even an issue of "underpriviledged" because if thats the case then im more underpriviledged than at least 50% of those lowstat african americans that gets accepted... its just a matter of ignorant stereotypes</p>

32

<p>how do u really tell an ad comm, "yes, i got my greencard 3 months ago, but prior to that my visa was unauthorized for employment so i worked illegally for more than 30 hours a week on top of school. i think i accomplished a lot, considering my circumstances. anybody else in my position would not have kept up with this." </p>

<p>no</p>

<p>what does it say on my application? no employment experiences.</p>

<p>*sighs... hopefull wellesley goes well</p>

33

<p>The best point of this whole thread that I agree with:</p>

<p>THERE ARE NO BLACK PEOPLE NAMED CINDY...also sure there's a stigma, but most black people I know don't care what people say, regardless they're still in a top university and they deserve it</p>

<p>also...How come nobody hates legacy???</p>

34

<p>Are there any quotas for legacies?</p>

35

<p>"also...How come nobody hates legacy???"</p>

<p>Uh... lots of people hate legacy.</p>

36

<p>Yeah, legacy is not "fair" either. But nobody claimed the process is fair.</p>

37

<p>Legacies have a (possibly) unfair advantage at one school.</p>

<p>URM have a stronger advantage at all schools.</p>

38

<p>I am not a legacy anywhere and they don't bother me as much as affirmative action.</p>

<p>Affirmative Action is based on race something I can never strive to change. Even though I haven't benefited from a legacy, if I continue to work hard at least my kids may be given a slight edge. Affirmative Action also takes a lot more under-qualified kids than legacy does.</p>

39

<p>Grow Up its not that big of a deal, However there are those people who
do abuse the system. The system does work for those who cannot afford it.
There should be more QUALIFICATIONS to receive money</p>

40

<p>u could change affirmative action for your kids by doing u know what with you know who</p>