<p>One of the major issues in AA is a definition of race. Who can check the little box? If you believe that you are .001% African American can you check the box? Sure, there has never been a court case, or even clear college policy, to define who is a particular minority. There are some exceptions for Native American Status. </p>
<p>AA= racial discrimination, by definition. Most people view racial discrimination of any kind, a bad thing. Minority status does not equate to socioeconomic status. Most people agree that socioeconomic status should be a consideration. </p>
<p>We need to reduce racism in society, please don't support it.</p>
<p>so you think that those who are " passing as "white" actually consider themselves "black" ?
I know a lot of students who are mixed- but usually don't really think of themselves as "AZN", "Black" etc, so they leave that category blank.</p>
<p>From what I have observed- people who are minority and have a college degree still feel strongly that we need AA, so while * I see* economic indicators as having a stronger impact on acheivement of students, a lot of people don't feel that economic indicators are as valid as using ethnic status, to the point of using "minority" as a fairly broad term, including all Asians, even when Asian Americans have as high or higher economic & academic achievements as Caucasians.
You can't tell by looking at me what socioeconomic group I am in, and since I often get lumped into the "rich white folk" category, I must be able to "pass". ;)
But while I personally don't assume that minorities have less income or are less educated than I am, ethnic group can be more obvious as a category than income and is still used to discriminate.</p>
<p>My daughters school just had a huge celebration today involving reunions from all classes before they shut down for two years while the school is being rebuilt.
It occured to me, that at the well off suburban school I attended in Kirkland washington, the only well known graduates that I could think of were actually more infamous than famous- ( both Caucasians- who had long stays in prison and whom I knew in high school)
BUt my daughters inner city school, has many famous grads, probably 9/10 of them minorities- from Homer Harris ('34'- first African American to captain a big ten football team- considered pro but became a doctor- with one of the biggest dermatology practices wesrt of Rockies) Minoru Yamasaki ( '29'-renowned architect World trade Center among others)- Quincy Jones ('50' music industry heavy)- Jimi Hendrix ( 60s- musician- with wide influence)Yasser Seirawan ( '77' chess grandmaster)- few are Caucasian, despite living in a time when there wasn't AA- so I am wondering- does it really make as big of a difference as we think it does?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Letting in a few URM's here and there by reducing standards makes those in elite institutions feel good, but really, what does it accomplish in the long run other than helping (maybe) a lucky few?<<</p>
</blockquote>
<br>
<p>Admitting one URM may seem like helping just one kid, but going to college can change the whole future destiny of a family line. That kid has kids who go onto college and become teachers, engineers, doctors, accountants and lawyers. And those kids have kids who go on to college and become--who knows?</p>
<p>Over a few generations, you can have affected a lot of people.</p>
<p>(and unfortunately, the same could be said going the other way)</p>
<p>Many people incorrectly equate URM with socioeconomic status. THe URM's benefiting from AA may well not be coming from a lower socioeconomic family. However, you are correct that the person who is "bumped" because of AA may or may not have come from this lower socioeconomic situation.</p>
<p>I'm having trouble finding the "middle ground" in this discussion. Is giving a "tip" to those with the means to pay full fare AA or not? I see many references to socioeconomic status.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>THe URM's benefiting from AA may well not be coming from a lower socioeconomic family. <<</p>
</blockquote>
<br>
<p>From what I've seen at our local high school, the URMs getting the big boost have come from single parent, low income families (HYP/Stanford acceptances). The one kid who came from a middle-class, 2 parent home didn't get a boost. From what I have seen, admissions committees look beyond the race box checked.</p>
<p>Do acoms know if a students parents are divorced or he/she was raised by a single parent? Do adcoms know the socioeconomic status of an applicant? I am not sure how much of a factor these issues play. WHere I live just the opposite is true, as URM students from upper middle class families seem to be getting the boost (including private prep school students).</p>