<p>I couldn’t agree more with Damond3 and ram0276. Especially after reading how arrogant some privileged black URM was.</p>
<p>Anyone who disagrees with this statement, please present your argument.
‘Affirmative Action is a necessary EVIL for American univesrities’</p>
<p>Stereotypes Supported by Affirmative Action: </p>
<p>Asians are naturally superior in math and science, all have Tiger Moms to help them with homework and therefore their achievements don’t mean as much.</p>
<p>Whites are privileged snobs who get high grades and SAT scores because mommy and daddy pay for tutors to write their essays and take their tests. They are also all legacies. </p>
<p>Hispanics shouldn’t be expected to be good in English because no one at home speaks English and they would be “alienated” if they learned it. Not getting pregnant at 16 is an achievement of merit.</p>
<p>Blacks all live in the ghetto and are all raised by single moms who don’t pay attention to them. People in their community will hate them if they achieve in school so its an achievement of merit if they actually make it to the SATs. </p>
<p>All these statements are terribly racist and make me sick. But these are the types of things that are spread by AA.</p>
<p>Maybe Asians achieve so much because when they were 10, while their friends were all playing outside, they were inside learning to do high school math. So yes, they deserve admissions more because they have been studying for it more.</p>
<p>Yes, definitely.</p>
<p>In a 2003 SCOTUS decision, it was expected affirmative action might last 25 more years. A recent NYT article says SCOTUS might do away with it sooner. </p>
<p><a href=“Supreme Court to Hear Affirmative Action Case - The New York Times”>Supreme Court to Hear Affirmative Action Case - The New York Times;
<p>Interestingly, Columbia’s president is quoted.</p>
<p>@Hate Wait…who was the black URM?</p>
<p>I believe he was talking about 116thetBroadway</p>
<p>She has something like a 1890 SAT score and a 3.7 GPA and she was accepted as was being quite haughty about it.</p>
<p>Funny thing is, I didn’t even apply to Columbia. But many of my friends did and it hurts to see people who have been preparing for this since middle school, have perfect GPAs, took all the right classes and got 2300+ SAT scores get rejected because of the color of their skin.</p>
<p>I don’t know how to quote but I’ll give it a shot.
</p>
<p>hope this works.</p>
<p>So I told myself that I wasn’t going to comment on this thread but after reading all of the posts, it seemed as if I must. I an an African American who applied to Harvard SCEA, and it just saddens me to see that racism still exists. Whether or not you were accepted, everyone needs to realize that it happened for a reason. Maybe you would have had a horrible roommate or maybe you will have better study abroad or research chances at your soon to be institution. Whatever the outcome, it happened for a reason, so instead of focusing on the past look forward to the future.</p>
<p>Oh and if you guys didn’t know, life has never been fair.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>
<p>wow it really works! And she hasn’t responded to my post.
</p>
<p>Spoken like a true and strong sista’! hahaha I am being so terrible and racist right now, but who cares. She sounds awful. What a terrible thing to say. And oh please, her acceptance is nothing short of a miracle. I feel like she forgot to mention that she’s a track star? I will continue with this obviously crude rant. I already hate her. How dare she bring you down simply because you were a tad pessimistic. I am too! And she has no right to laud herself for being accepted.</p>
<p>@Indigo OH YEA HARVARD SCEA YEA! lol I applied too.</p>
<p>I recently attended an Info Session/tour at a very prestigious college. While waiting in an office packed with other families, a group of would-be students entered with a Diversity Coordinator. I later found out this select group had received special guidance to familiarize them with the application process, offer them support, advise them of scholarships specific to URMs, and more. No problem. This group was comprised entirely of people of color. Still no problem. What did disturb me was several of the group members were obviously quite well-to-do. One girl in particular was dressed in easily $100,000 worth of clothing. Her shoes alone, Jimmy Choos, were at least $500. There is more to this story but I’ll leave it at that.</p>
<p>Disadvantaged? Hard to see it. Economic diversity is more desirable in college admissions than racial preferences.</p>
<p>It was a discomfort that Columbia adcoms were not able to see her arrogance and condescending nature in her essay</p>
<p>oh my goodness so many posts</p>
<p>Okay, I’m going to have to let this one go. Time for the graceful conclusion. Or whatever.</p>
<p>Damond, you don’t seem to understand how argumentation works. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>You other guys make some legitimate arguments (among other poor ones). I can’t think of you as stupid/dumb anymore for thinking as you do. Other detractors might think as they do for the wrong reasons, but I think I understand you now, which is the point of these debates.</p>
<p>In the end, colleges don’t admit blacks for the high-minded reasons I ranted about in these threads. Through my browsing of these forums, reading numerous books on college admissions, etc., I know that their thesis is much more straightforward:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It’s all about the brand. Class composition determines the brand. If Harvard and the others allowed itself to be 100% ORMs and WASPS, their brand would be ruined. They want their class to represent America, so that Harvard and the others maintain their place as the most prestigious American institution of higher education out there.</p></li>
<li><p>Diversity provides concrete educational benefits. Imagine if you had gone through your whole high school surrounded by people only of your own race. Think of how limited your understanding of the world would be. Your only exposure to these groups would be in cases of community service or when stopping by the supermarket, solidifying trends of self-segregation, apathy to racial issues, and incapacity to interact with other cultures.</p></li>
<li><p>College admissions people look at individuals in the context of their backgrounds, and truly do maintain stereotypes associating black with down-and-out. This is not unfounded, but the basis of these stereotypes is murky, and should be identified on a case-by-case basis. I think that in the interests of diversity, they ignore the fact that not every person’s experience as a black, white, or asian person is the same. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Qualified black applicants are rare, and as such, are commodities. They are in high demand, so college admissions peeps don’t have as much choice between them. It makes economic sense to choose an scarce good over one that is not so scarce if the two are valued equally.</p>
<p>One more key thing: We have a habit of thinking of colleges as holy grounds where merit is supposed to be rewarded and academic weakness punished — we think that any college that fails to achieve this ideal is morally blameworthy. But that’s not how colleges work at all.</p>
<p>Colleges like to think of themselves as socially progressive. Their purpose is not “educate the smartest possible” — but to make the biggest social impact possible through education. Nothing would make Duke more proud than to provide the education that gives a student the skills required to lead as a American President, for example. </p>
<p>They use their resources how they see fit; how they see as doing the best for society. They are independent institutions; it is not their jobs to be meritocratic, and it never was. If Harvard one day decides it should devote its resources to educate at-risk students (rather than the best of the best), no one would be able to stop it. </p>
<p>If Harvard wants to devote its resources to, in some small way, serve all the ethnic groups of America, no one can stop it (well, not at the moment). </p>
<p>A very prominent theory about how Blacks might finally be brought out of the bottom of society that Black leader, W. E. B. Du Bois once promoted was the building of an elite top 10% of blacks to deliver the rest, to act as role models in science, politics and other domains for other blacks to aspire to (instead of in sports and entertainment). I think elite institutions are interested in this ideal, and for good reason. If it finds this goal more worthy than admitting a few more asians, that’s its decision one, and an informed one.</p>
<hr>
<p>The whole idea that Affirmative Action is in some way “unfair” or “screws over other ethnic groups” is one I still vehemently oppose. It’s based on an entirely inaccurate understanding of how the college admissions system works and misrepresents the thinking that goes into it.</p>
<p>College admissions is a game of musical chairs, except with an admissions comittee deciding who takes a seat. It’s the institutional goals of the university that defines the standards by which people get chosen. If you don’t like those goals, why the hell are you applying to the school?</p>
<p>I’m sorry you feel that way Indigo. And everything does happen for a reason, maybe a rejection because of race would inspire someone to fight against it for their children. I don’t believe I was racist in any way, but if I offended you I’m sorry. Congrats on your acceptance, hopefully you will do a lot with it.</p>
<p>Man,kudos to the Columbia admin office. You read these posts and you can see exactly why people were rejected or accepted.</p>
<p>Ok Phil, thanks for the interesting evening. Have a good night :)</p>
<p>@Cal8876, what exactly do you mean?</p>