<p>So the election is over. Is anyone worried about large segments of some populations not voting? (Chinese Americans, Indian Americans, etc., etc.)I t seems to me the same trends exsist.Any minorites care to comment? I am referring here to the college age population.</p>
<p>Well, I don't know if they'll move this (not related to college apps) to CC cafe but at the trico colleges (Haverford, Swat and Bryn Mawr) and UPenn and all the other colleges in the Philly area there was huge emphasis on voter registration. They gave classes off on Nov 2 for students to volunteer all day. Lots and lots of college students regardless of ethnicity voted in the Philly area. So I don't know...I think minorities did vote.</p>
<p>neither candidate seemed to address minority issues.
The majority of voters were white and middle aged, but 50 years from now this country will be neither. Candidates will have to be more responsive.</p>
<p>Why is it thought that the color of your skin makes you have the same feelings on positions as someone else with the same skin color? Do all Latino's think that we should be in Iraq? Does an African American that lives in a small town in Indiana feel the same way about everthing as someone that lives in a big city? My husband and I are both white and one of us voted for Bush and one for Kerry.</p>
<p>where did anyone say that all minorities or all whites should be lumped under one candidate?
However it does seem the case that while just 62% of those eligible to vote actually voted, most of those were white and middle income
( I feel bad for the AA who lives in a small town in Indiana, my sister inlaw is from Colombia, considers herself white and her experience has been of not quite racial harrasment, but ostracism)</p>
<p>Okay, what is a minority issue that would interest the majority of a certain racial group, say Latino's? </p>
<p>Maybe the Indiana AA was a bad example but the only AA people that live in our small Pennsylvania white waspy town don't seem any different then their white waspy neighbors. We're concerned with the economy, Iraq, Education, etc..... A politician says education and I pay attention. They talk about the crime in the cities and I lose interest.</p>
<p>how about the ability of ESL students in a district to begin to be educated in their own language rather than be put into SPED as they are in some districts?
I am not saying that they shouldnt be expected to learn english, but translators should be available to their parents so they can communicate with the school, and you neednt place a high school student in elementary school just because they don't speak english.
Or addressing that minorities are less likely to graduate high school- buy a house , graduate from college,etc</p>
<p>I don't see any evidence that "minorities" were significantly under-represented among voters in this election. From the national exit poll data:</p>
<p>77% of the voters were white
11% African-American
8% Hispanic
8% Asian-American
2% Other</p>
<p>I don't know the exact racial breakdown of voting age US citizens, but those percentages don't srike me as radically out of line. Certainly the Asian-American and African-American numbers are fairly close.</p>
<p>Interesting, Bush made strong gains with non-white voters. He got 11% of the African-American vote, up from 9% in 2000. He got 44% of the Asian vote, up from 42% in 2000. Strikingly, he got 44% of the Hispanic vote, up a whopping 9 points from the 35% in 2000.</p>
<p>Conversely, the Democrats lost ground with minority voters, something that should be of great concern to the Party, especially since these groups are one of the parties few remaining core constituencies.</p>
<p>I don't know where the national exit polls are from cause I thought voting was anonymous, but I agree that many minorities did vote for Bush, which I attribute to the minorities that I know having much more conservative views than the rest of the community.</p>
<p>TYPO ALERT:</p>
<p>In the minority voting percentages I listed above, Asian-Americans should be 2%. </p>
<p>Sorry about that. For some reason, I can't edit the message, so I didn't want to leave the type uncorrected.</p>
<p>Emerald, ESL: My understanding is the parents actually want their kids immersed in English so they will learn it faster. Agree that translators would be extremely helpful for parents but of the closest city school I know of around here, there just isn't enough money for all the translators that would be needed. Is that really a Presidential issue - or a state issue? Maybe it is a national issue since NCLB is an underfunded federal mandate and you could argue that they're connected.</p>
<p>And this, "Or addressing that minorities are less likely to graduate high school- buy a house , graduate from college,etc". Is that a color issue or an economic one? Poor kids in general are going to have a hard time in schools and because of that later in life. If you're a middle class african american will you be less likely to do well in school as a white middle class person? I've always heard the rhetoric about appealing to the minorities but I think that's code for poor people of color in the cities. And that doesn't always make sense.</p>
<p>Interesteddad, Is the voting percentage about the same racial make up of America? i.e. are there 77% white, 11 % AA, etc.</p>
<p>I don't know for sure. Ironically, I haven't found a definitive demographic breakdown, especially one that covers voting-age citizens.</p>
<p>I "think" the minority voting on Tuesday slightly underrepresented the population. For example, African-Americans comprised 11% of the voters and I think they are somewhere around 12% of the population. The only group that appears significantly under-represented is young people.</p>
<p>Overall, I am quite surprised by the large turnout in this election as I really don't see either candidate as generating a tremendous amount of excitment. I chalk it up to both parties investing huge amounts of soft money in voter turnout efforts.</p>
<p>Emeraldkity, I find it funny that you said "where did anyone say that all minorities or all whites should be lumped under one candidate?" and then go on to spew stereotypical ignorance that you are supposedly against by trying to imply that all whites from Indiana are ignorant rascists based on an isolated, unfortunate incident that happened to your relative. I am white and from Indiana and simply cannot stand it when I am misrepresented, especially if it is by ignorant hypocrite that purports him/herself as a adovcate of minority rights, while practicing the base actions that they are supposedly combating.</p>
<p>"My understanding is the parents actually want their kids immersed in English so they will learn it faster. Agree that translators would be extremely helpful for parents but of the closest city school I know of around here, there just isn't enough money for all the translators that would be needed. Is that really a Presidential issue - or a state issue? Maybe it is a national issue since NCLB is an underfunded federal mandate and you could argue that they're connected.</p>
<p>I am very involved in education at the district level. If a child does not speak the language well enough to do work without assistance, they are often placed in special ed as they can't "test" at grade level, or they are placed in an inappropriate grade level ( IMO). This is partly because of NCLB, because students must pass or the school must be making progress toward goals. The larger percentage of ESL students the more difficult it often is to meet these goals.</p>
<p>I agree that there is not enough money, however districts could do a better job of having material supplied in other languages and having translators at the district level that can be available as needed for parents. Even when students are able to learn the language quickly, parents often have a much more difficult time, and lack of communication is compounded by the whole process.
I think it is a district then a state issue at least where I am. Certain groups are very good at advocating for their needs ( the gifted program for example) but others who are significantly larger percent of district are not so skilled at negotiating and keeping on administration to be more responsive.
Its frustrating to see.
as far as color goes it has been our impression that in enough cases to be really concerned, color is still a large issue towards getting a loan/a job/an education.
In the schools in which I have worked, it isn't unsual for even teachers who consider themselves educated and liberal to have bias that the black students for example are not as intelligent as the white or asian students, and they have much lower expectations of them, much lower oftentimes than what their parents have, and I know parents who have had to battle the school to get their child placed in an appropriate class.</p>
<p>Thedude
So where did I say that Hoosiers are racists?
I implied that it is difficult for anyone to be isolated from others in their group. While quite often there is a common thread between people, it can be difficult to live where there aren't any other Catholics for example.
So you say that you are not the type of person I am thinking of.
How many of your close friends do not attend your church/share your background?
Perhaps you could give us a lesson in applying the principals by which you live your life to our own.</p>
<p>Emeraldkity, since you seem to feel that there was nothing wrong with your previous statement I feel that it is in order to give you a breakdown of why I was offended. First you stated "I feel bad for the AA who lives in a small town in Indiana..." by stating "the AA" instead of simply speaking of the expierence of your relative you imply a commonality of experience to the Indiana AA and you go on to imply that this commonality resides in racially related "ostracism". To have this large scale discrimination, we must have a large group of individuals to perpetrate them (most likely whites). I do acknowlege that this insinuation was most likely unintentional, but please consider your phraseology in order to avoid being misunderstood in the future.
As to your new question about my principles, I am probably not the best midwestern case study but I will share a few of my beliefs. First, the closest thing that I resemble religiously would be a deist, and I do not and will not subscribe to any dogmatic religion. This principle is not held by any of my family members nor many of my community members, but that does not bother me. Secondly, with regard to politics, I do not have any party affiliation and have a nice mix of political ideals that are probably more liberal than conservative. Although most in my area are staunch conservatives, I feel that this difference in ideals does not create the isolation of which you spoke. Thirdly, I typed entirely too much already and if you want to know more ask individual questions.</p>
<p>Emerald,
I got your message about being the lone AA in Indiana. In our school we are the only family of a certain minority religion and it is a battle to get certain accomodations. Much easier to be part of a group. My point was that skin color is not as important perhaps as economic issues. But, prejudice is certainly alive and (un)well in America.</p>
<p>As far as the ESL issue, the reason I think it is a state issue as opposed to a district one is that the NCLB is a federal mandate that states must follow but the funds do not make it to the district level. I usually attend one school board meeting a month and I can tell you I don't know where the money would come from for translators. Maybe the gifted program? We do seem to have money for that program but I think it's because each gifted child has a form of Individual Evaluation Plan (IEP) but minority kids may not unless they are gifted or challenged. And, lacking in being able to communicate in English (!) and not understanding the system would be an impossible task. Sounds like a need for a volunteer advocate.</p>