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<p>Yeah but do you support the rights of Jews to have a middle eastern homeland or do you think Asians have also suffered injustices, so Jews do not deserve redress for what they suffered in WWII? </p>
<p>I am asking, because it is pretty obvious from your past writings that you do not think Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans experienced anything especially brutal and vicious in the Americas at the hands of Europeans that Asians have not experienced. Am I right?</p>
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<p>If you’re asking me personally, I don’t believe Jews have a “right” to a homeland in the Middle East based on the Torah. I’m an atheist, so the Torah has no value to me beyond the literary. Having said that, I do support Israel’s right to existence because she earned it the same way pretty much every other country earned it: winning a war.</p>
<p>But getting back to the topic at hand, I hope you’re not suggesting that all Jews support Israel’s right to exist or that only Jews support Israel’s right to exist. There are non-Zionist Jews, and many evangelical Christians are diehard Israel supporters.</p>
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<p>When did I ever say that “blacks and Native Americans” never “experienced anything especially brutal and vicious in the Americas at the hands of Europeans that Asians have not experienced”?</p>
<p>If you’re going to say that it’s “pretty obvious” I think that way, I’d very much like to see direct quotes of mine that support such an “obvious” conclusion.</p>
<p>Now, I have said that Hispanics never experienced anything especially brutal and vicious in the Americas at the hands of Europeans that Asians have not experienced, yes. Blacks and Native Americans? No.</p>
<p>Fabrizio,</p>
<p>You made some good points regarding diversity of thought and experience, rather than of race. I’ll think about this some more.</p>
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<p>You know someone who works there? I wonder when the decision comes out. I suspect that you may be right. Also, I don’t understand why such a sophisticated holistic process top colleges use won’t produce the mix of students we have today. I don’t except much changes in admission in the next few years regardless.</p>
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<p>Of course it does and of course I do. Even rich black students have different experiences than and are treated differently from whites just because their skin is dark. But more generally, blacks come from different cultures than whites, and are more aware of and interested in the problems that specifically face black americans.</p>
<p>It’s sad that you don’t understand the value of racial diversity, of actively working for equity between the races in our world and our universities. I sincerely hope but deeply fear that there are others like you willing to ignore the needs a group that has always suffered this fate.</p>
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<p>Thank you. In any case, I hope your son has a great time.</p>
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<p>So you’re saying that SAT, GPA, and racial classification are sufficient to produce a student body that is capable of doing true college-level work and has a variety of ideas, interests, talents, and viewpoints?</p>
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<p>So what are you saying? Without racial preferences, even wealthy "URM"s, who come from families that can afford private schools and test prep, cannot make it to elites? Or are you saying that each elite should strive to admit at least one wealthy black student because he is likely to have experienced some discrimination in his life, even if he’s otherwise a “boring, dispassionate ‘URM’”?</p>
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<p>What kind of equity are we talking about here? Equity of opportunity…or of result?</p>
<p>Sigh. Again, you feel the need to resort to strawmanning the argument.</p>
<p>Possession of an opportunity is just another type of result.</p>
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<p>What strawmen? You said “Of course it does and of course I do.” Direct quote, with my emphasis added. Does that not imply that you believe that SAT, GPA, and racial classification are all a college needs to achieve a multitude of ideas, interests, talents, and viewpoints?</p>
<p>Why bring up “rich black students” in the context of racial preferences unless you believe that they need them?</p>
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<p>No, it does not. Before you flip a coin, there is an equal opportunity for the coin to land on heads or tails. But before you flip it, there is no “heads or tails” result.</p>
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<p>Thanks for saying something this hopeless and crass.</p>
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<p>The truth is hopeless and crass to you? No matter. The point is that not all Jews are Zionists, and not all Zionists are Jews. Again, more generally, all members of group X are not guaranteed to share belief Y.</p>
<p>@ fabrizio, Thank you for articulating so well the problems of, and some viable alternatives to, the Affirmative Action in College Admission. This practice, under the name of ‘holistic’ admission, is nothing other than a racial preference (for URM) and racial discrimination (against asian americans and whites). This racial discrimination practice by the institutions of higher education should be stopped. If you see for any given college (the top colleges in particular) that the ethnic proportion of the entering class remains at similar numbers year after year after year, it is hard not to take it as some sort of racial quata.</p>
<p>In addition, when the Admission Rate is in or close to a single-digit percentage for some elite colleges, the preference given to Legacy affect so negatively the admission chances for non-legacy applicants. When the admission percentage was in the 20s or 30s, the legacy admission and AA could have been tolerated/accomodated. But now with the Admission Rate in or near the single-digit percentage, both legacy and AA are really bad for non-legacy and non-URM applicants.</p>
<p>fabrizio, what you have said exactly matches, so to speak, the thesis of the book Mismatch.</p>
<p>I have a question, which i was told to post here: Let me preface this by saying this may be a stupid question. I may be way over-thinking (and overstressed about this). Anyway, would it be in my favor, given I’m a Caucasian/white, to NOT fill out the optional race question?</p>
<p>You are always free to decline self-identification. The choice is yours.</p>
<p>Yet another newspaper article about race issues in the United States: </p>
<p>[Rise</a> of the Tiger Nation: Asian-American Success - WSJ.com](<a href=“Rise of the Tiger Nation: Asian-American Success - WSJ”>Rise of the Tiger Nation: Asian-American Success - WSJ)</p>
<p>I understand it’s optional; what I’m wondering is whether it’s to my advantage to not fill it out.</p>
<p>I can’t give you the answer you’re looking for because no one outside of the admissions office of the particular college you’re applying to knows. All I can say is that if it bothers you, or if you’re concerned, don’t self-identify.</p>