<p>I love it for everything it represents. I am a black male, and this fall I will be attending one of the most prestigious colleges on the face of the earth. I was granted this privilege because my not-so-distant relatives were lynched and sold and worked like oxes; thus, I do not mind those that make up the "mainstream" (aka whites) who dislike affirmative action. If and when the day comes that AA approaches the supreme court once again, I will be standing on the steps of washington with picket signs displayed. Take a deep breath, and smell the AA air. And yes, consider this thread a "salute" to its counterpart already listed on this board.</p>
<p>This board is for those who SUPPORT AA. please haters, stay away. thanks much:)
'Till next time...I'M IN!</p>
<p>Curious kid : If you are Asian, then yes i believe. I don't think it is only meant for African-Americans. Then again I don't know much about AA. Except for the fact that I don't like it.</p>
<p>Vietnamese makes you international Asian, unless you live in the US. then you're just asian. In some cases, you would be considered for AA, especially if your parents/grandparents encountered hardship.
Groenveld, you don't like AA because you're white. If AA were the other way around, you'd love it.
Next!</p>
<p>btw I am not a hater, it just doesn't help my chances as much. Which in turn makes me work harder which in turn makes me a better person. OHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh haha</p>
<p>it kind of is, considering higher education is a deeply entrenched white institution. even if it didn't have such racist roots, there is still the question of very unequal resources from home regarding how well you will realistically succeed (different cultural resources, no experience with academia, less money for prep things, etc etc). the way i see it, the more non-white people that get into academia, the easier will it be to change it into something that DOESN'T attract, accept and then have so many "minority groups" drop out (see, for example, the black versus white drop-out rate).</p>
<p>so yeah. it's fair. sometimes i just wonder if it is enough.</p>
<p>They should have it by school/location. Race and financial status do not affect your ability to achieve academically whatsoever. Availability of programs, however, can be greatly impedimentary (I'm not sure that that is a word).</p>
<p>Of course, if someone has to take care of their five siblings because their poor, single parent works 2-3 jobs, that is different... They deserve a little credit.</p>
<p>But I think colleges, to some extent, already take these things into account. Perhaps they should put a bit more emphasis on locational resources, though.</p>
<p>-sigh- I'm still the only one I know who thinks we should do away with any sort of "action" altogether. If people want to say that they've had a hard life and achieved so much more than would be expected, then they can go right on ahead and write about it in their college essays.</p>