<p>Anuddah, you state that you believe ethnicity often times IS personal experience. However, you then you go on to tacitly demonstrate why personal experiences and perspectives have more to do with socioeconomics than race through your comparison of the black Harlem student and the white student from a crumbling mill town.</p>
<p>I don’t really need to say anything, as your own argument actually defends my position. However, I will answer your question. Will your daughter get the same treatment as the URM’s despite suffering through the exact same challenges? No, she won’t, because she is white - and that is what I am arguing against. AA, if it must exist, should be socioeconomic and not race based.</p>
<p>I agree completely with phear. If we judge on the concept that “race = a certain life experience”, then we are adhering to a stereotype from which many people are exempt.</p>
<p>Based on that thinking, a white student raised in poverty in Harlem would be held to a higher standard than a black student raised in affluent suburbs and attending a private school, simply because he is white and “therefore must have had access to better resources”. Instead of rewarding people for overcoming difficult life circumstances, AA simply rewards those who are born into a certain race, something which takes no talent and is completely irrelevant to actual performance. I sincerely pity the Chinese student who grew up in the slums and overcame extenuating circumstances to score a below-average SAT score. If only he were black.</p>