<p>Also posted on African American students forum.</p>
<p>I'm not trying to whine or anything but I hear some people talk about Latinos and Blacks being targeted by some students because supposedly we're only there because of Affirmative Action. And I really REALLY don't want to deal with that crap. The schools I want to go to are BU or NYU btw.</p>
<p>Do as well in your classes as your white counterparts. </p>
<p>Honestly, I don’t see how people would be giving you crap. People don’t have enough time to go harass people for no reason.</p>
<p>"Do as well in your classes as your white counterparts. "</p>
<p>So if one of her white counterparts has an A but another one a C+, which white counterpart should she keep up with? Or did I misread your statement and you actually implied that all of her white counterparts are naturally going to do well in school just because they are white?</p>
<p>don’t keep up with anyone; just do the you can i your situation and compete with yourself. Who cares what they think, they don’t know if you got in because of AA and neither do you so don’t fret about it. People are going to say what they want regardless,either way you are attending a really good school and it isn’t your fault that being a URM gives you an advantage.</p>
<p>CC is not the best place to ask this question considering the large number of threads of posters whining about Affirmative Action.</p>
<p>So, this probably won’t end well.</p>
<p>In any event, don’t choose a school based on the issues some people may have. But, to contradict my earlier statement, NYU is probably your best bet. Boston is… eh.</p>
<p>“Boston is…eh”</p>
<p>It sucks?</p>
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<p>An A is a better grade than a C+ and you should try for an A if at all possible regardless of your “race”. </p>
<p>And as for the OP; in my experience, there aren’t a lot of racists at the college I attended (in Virginia). The few that exist will use affirmative action as a cover, but if it didn’t exist they would find something else because that’s the kind of people that they are – small-minded and petty. You can’t control what these people think and what they say, but you can beat them by making sure that you do your best and get what you want out of your college experience.</p>
<p>What exactly is Affirmative Action anyway?</p>
<p>Oh… here we go.</p>
<p>Affirmative action is a practice that universities and colleges, as well as other institutions (like employers) began in the 1960s to assure proportionally representative populations of ethnic/racial minorities (particularly African Americans) and white women were present within the institutions. The policies were originally begun because ethnic and racial minorities were subject to widespread discrimination in the recruitment and admissions practices of universities and colleges, and because they were generally disadvantaged in the kinds of things that prepared and qualified students for admissions into these schools (the best schools, preparation for standardized tests, activities outside of school, etc.)</p>
<p>Various methods of affirmative action were attempted from the 1960s through the 1990s, including quota methods (these were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, so contrary to the testimony of a lot of people on CC, no U.S. college or university has quota systems in place to admit minority students). They were challenged as soon as they were put in place and continue to be challenged, including in 2003 when two white students who were not accepted to the University of Michigan’s law school sued, stating that they hadn’t gotten in because of affirmative action policies. The Court ruled that Michigan’s system of awarding extra “points” towards admission to minority applicants was unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Affirmative action still remains hotly contested.</p>
<p>To the OP: I wouldn’t worry about it too much. I went to a historically black college for my undergrad, but I’m currently at an Ivy League institution for graduate school, where I’m the only black female and one of two black students period in the graduate psychology department. There are 48 graduate students in my department and 7 of us are non-white students. There are 24 faculty members in the department and 3 of them are non-white professors.</p>
<p>However, I’ve always been treated like I was just the same as any other graduate student, with the same consideration and privileges. There hasn’t been a whiff of any idea that I was admitted on the basis of anything less than my personal credentials and experiences from any students or professors. The negative experiences of being a black female in academia don’t stem from being targeted for overt racism; they’re more much subtle than that (PM me for elaboration if you desire).</p>
<p>“So if one of her white counterparts has an A but another one a C+, which white counterpart should she keep up with? Or did I misread your statement and you actually implied that all of her white counterparts are naturally going to do well in school just because they are white?”</p>
<p>That comment was sarcastic. It was the second one I made which was supposed to be meaningful.</p>
<p>Racism is usually pretty subtle, and often comes in seemingly harmless comments as “Do as well in your classes as your white counterparts.” Even when statements like those aren’t purposely racist, they imply that your “white counterparts” will do well and that you will have to simply work to do that well.</p>
<p>here are your options:</p>
<p>go to a school with only black people</p>
<p>go the school you want to go to, and if you find someone there who is racist, tell them to **** and do not associate with them.</p>
<p>If only it were that mind-numblingly simple, soccerguy315.</p>
<p>Applicannot’s point was exactly the one that I was trying to make. Both parts of Qwerty’s comment were subtly prejudiced - including the second part, because the implication is that racist and prejudiced acts won’t happen because people have “better things to do.” Any review of the news in recent years of racist incidents happening both on and off university campuses belies that.</p>
<p>OP, you will probably experience some sort of racial prejudice at some point but it likely won’t be as overt as someone telling you to your face that you’re only there because of AA. One of the sad realities of our lives, however, is that you kind of have to learn to deal with it to a certain extent.</p>
<p>I am a white female and tired of blacks whining about racism. Just a few days ago I was riding the subway and admiring the gorgeous pattern on a backpack. Half a minute later I was called a racist for staring at a black lady. </p>
<p>But to anwer your question, I have never heard of a student at my college encountering racism due to affirmative action.</p>
<p>Wow, that was quick.
New CC record.</p>
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<p>I’m not a fan of it.</p>
<p>Boston comes off as way too conservative for me. (In my humble opinion.)
If you’re into that, you may like it though.</p>
<p>To the OP: Don’t worry. There are plenty of people in college and many of them are looking to make friends and network. Majority (I would guess) come to college with an open mind–after all this is the first time they are away from home, and its the first time many of us get to try new things and have freedom. That being said, there shouldn’t be any forms of racism, even if you are the super minority. In academics, your race should not be judged superficially, but your intelligence will be!</p>
<p>I’ve never noticed that at my school, though its not particularly elite. All races hang out with all races. I’ve never looked at a black or spanish student and thought to myself that they must only be here because of affirmative action. I’ve actually noticed that a lot of the minority people in my tougher classes are the ones constantly studying (and doing way better than me). But anyway, if someone did say something along those lines to you, they’re not worth your time and you should simply ignore them.</p>
<p>To the OP: Where ever you go to school in the US I highly recommend that you do all you can to take a semester or a summer abroad; preferably in the UK, depending on your language skills or major of interest. It is so important to see and understand that although there are prejudices all over the world based on many things, skin color included, it is not the same as in the US at all.</p>
<p>Roo: Yeah, that was a stupid comment she made but don’t let it get to you. Everyone is entitled to hold dumbass opinions; it’s the not abusing the right, that becomes tricky.</p>
<p>That said, here is my dumbass opinion: racism/sexism/sexual orientation discrimination/heightism (small people have feelings too) would be eliminated when weed becomes legalized. Nobody wants to get into a fight or argue when they’re high.</p>
<p>Yep. PlattsburghLoser for president, 2012. Vote.</p>
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<p>Maybe you’re just overanalyzing/criticizing the accepting nature of people in general. Do you really think people of color have it that bad in terms of racism? My best friend is black and she’s never complained about being discriminated against. In fact, if people were to discriminate against blacks, they’d get punished a lot worse than someone who criticized a white person. So we have the “if anything slips your tongue you’ll be classified as a racist” thing to deal with because people make such a big deal about everything.</p>
<p>Race does not exist. We share 99.99% of the same genes as people of other color, maybe even more. How dare you lash out with swear words against someone of a different color and use a stereotype to demean them. There is only one race–the human race (and possibly others on different planets of course)</p>
<p>Learn to live, love,and accept, and stop criticising other people</p>