Alright, I'll Admit It

Seeing how my viewership had dwindled down to Zero, I think its safe for me to reveal my secret sentiments regarding the Affirmative Action ban voted on in Nebraska and Colorado.

Remember, Colorado voted to keep AA and Nebraska voted against AA.

My liberal older cousin and I briefly discussed this, she said that she though Nebraska voters were mislead about what the the ban would really do. She said things like, not giving money to minority programs in North Omaha. And I mentioned my feelings that if we focused our attention on socioeconomics rather than race, it would be more "fair," etc. and then very poorly articulated an college admissions example of the unfairness AA creates.

Honestly though, I feel like Nebraska conservatives did not make the choice out of fairness and for being well informed. I wouldn't want to give us so much credit. I'm sure that they are just didn't want minorities to succeed, or whatever, unconsciously. Come on, Nebraska would never be cool about anything. They weren't doing it for the greater good and justice, for god sakes, most of Nebraskans listen to < barf > Rush and O'Reilly. < / barf >

Regardless, I don't believe in AA, so it worked out.

Zio's Pizza

I went to Zio's Pizza with Evan and Jonathon today and there was the nicest server there. Evan and I were going to split the "2 Slices & a drink" special, and the server gave us three sodas for all of us! And then he gave us 4 slices of cheesy bread free (with marinara sauce), and then a pitcher of coca cola free!

It was really really nice of him and I'm glad there are such nice people in the world. We gave definitely gave him a tip.

:)

First Semester

My first semester at Wyoming was hectic. I did not watch a single full tv show during this semester (I didn't even have a tv). And had to pass up The Office parties on Thursdays.

Although i don't think my life shouldn't be run by television, or their schedule. I'll sad that I miss the entire election campaigning (via Daily Show) in addition to my favorite shows. I never saw a speech, and I never saw...well anything.

I'm trying to catch up now:







:*) Good job, SNL

English Major

What do you do with one? It's kind of like the appendix of degrees.

Why the New Look?

I decided to put a little green on my blog to give passerbys the subliminal "Go Green!" message. Being conscious about our environment is not only a benefit to ourselves, but a way to help others. I feel like people who are passionately for a cause often get have a negative stigma as a crazed fanatic, and I don't think this should be the case (well, at a certain point, maybe). I have to think that they are just more empathetic towards other people.


Watch CBS Videos Online

I saw this and was very shocked and saddened. But I can think of one friend who would shrug and say "it's not here so who cares" (as she callously said about the Sichuan earthquake this year). Really? You're not moved at all?

Although, I'm sure that displacing the pain of others makes life easier to live because you'll never be able to help everyone...

We have a standard of living that is absolutely unsustainable, but we have such a luxurious mindset that we don't care. During the most of the gas crisis, Hummer's were selling just fine. We have such a disposable society.

I thought this was cool:



:*)

If we can do it, then why don't we?

Website

I made a website to hopefully increase my income so I can finance college. Visit it here!

Lame.

Just like some people dream about one day becoming rich and having a fancy car, I think about how great it would be if everyone was nice to each other. Both equally unrealistic.

Public Speaking Requirement

I haven't taken it here, but I hear credible complaints. Is it UW's worst "program"?

Complaints:

1. Make you follow very specific speech formula, and if you loose points for not following it to the teeth, even if you have a wonderful and effective speech

2. Having a great speech, but getting a 70% on it. Or the teacher not giving you useful criticism explaining her low grade when they she seemed to give you only positive comments

3. being controlled by a higher power to deduct points so the majority of the class has a C?
---> if so, does this reflect the class well? Really, a class that the entire school is required to take, and they make it hard in an arbitrary way. Is/Should the outline really be more valuable than the speech?

4. Not that it's impossible to get an A in the class, but you just have give a very standard speech.


Regardless, I'm glad I took my speech class somewhere else. I saw the speech workbook= :(

Group Projects

:(

Maybe Goodbye

I know there are millions of silent readers of my blog, and as this assignment is drawing to an end, so, I fear, will my activity.

Although, if there is a mass uproar, I can reconsider this.
But I know my billions of audience members are shy but thoughtful creatures who would rather ruminate on my posts than comment on them. It's ok, I still know you're out there.

Except nothing, hope for everything.

Everyone's A Little Bit Racist

My Sentiments.


This is from a musical with puppets called Avenue Q. Only two of them have puppets though, obviously this isn't he real deal.

Let's Review

We're coming to close on this blog project, and I thought it would helpful for any new or future readers if I summarized some of the points I have been making through this blog.

A little review session that can fit your pocket:

1. This blog is about Affirmative Action in higher education, specifically that it is unfair and should be abolished in favor of socioeconomic considerations.

2. I looked at an example of the unfair, pro-Affirmative Action admissions process of Michigan State University. And also the clear discrimination in the admissions process at the University of California, Berkley (See "Congratulations on Being White---5 Points" "University of California-Berkley, Keepin' it Real" )

3. Is helping the lower income just as unfair as choosing someone by race? No, because there is a real disparity between the quality of education/opportunity for someone from a low income background rather than someone who is a minority. (See "Penny to the Wise")

4. I also looked at the wonderful admissions/financial aid system of Stanford University as a possible option/solution. Stanford "guarantees" that a student who is admitted will be financially able to attend the University, without loans! (See "Stanford Education---ON SALE!")

5. Finally, I gave a "tip o' the hat" to Nebraska for voting to ban AA this election, and a "wag o' the finger" to Colorado for keeping AA action. (I say "finally" here even though there are many other points I mention, but have decided that 5 is a nice number to end on).


Of course, I encourage you to explore my blog future, leave comments, ask questions, and/or suggestions!

Yours truly,
J Ham

It Build Character

My mom speaks and even writes in broken English.

I think it's my favorite kind of English. I like the gaps and spaces, the wrong tenses, the missing articles, and mixing up the genders. It adds a sense of mystery and opens up her meaning to limitless possiblities.

I like that I know what she means beyond what she just says. Sometimes I tut-tut about grammar, but she never really fixes her mistakes, and that's great.

I was reading the graduation card she wrote me today:

"I don't have to worry a thing about you"

-- I like the double meaning of the "I don't have to worrry about you" and the phrase she mixed it up with: "you don't have to worry about a thing." It's better than a normal phrase with only one meaning---like maybe you get upset because you have broken a mirror, only to discorver the beauty of the web the cracks weave.


It must not be a disadvantage, because I'm an English major now.

Pre-Turkey

When I talk to people about the holidays, people are always interested about how I spend my Thanksgiving, for example.

I think they want me to say something exotic.

Well here is a little taste:

My mom is explaining to my ex-aunt how to cook a turkey in Vietnamese. To me it sounds kind of like this:
"blah blah blah blah turkey blah blah turkey, then blah blah blah blah blah turkey....blah blah blah blah blah....."

And then on Thanksgiving our extended family comes and we eat my mommy's delicious turkey, (sometimes baked, sometimes deep fried, once even both) and she usually makes another meat, some potatoes, rolls, a causal casserole, and a wildly unpopular salad or salad variation.

I think this is fairly standard protocol.

Sorry to disappoint.

What is Discrimination?

http://wecanmo.org/

^ This site is dedicated to encouraging Missouri residents to keep Affirmative Action in Missouri and "reject discrimination" but isn't that what Affirmative Action is? It wants you to make sure people are fairly represented, despite qualifications.

They actually won to keep it of the ballot.

And the site also criticizes Ward Connerly quite a bit. There argument isn't the most solid thing I've heard and its no wonder they've turned off comment capabilities. Ward Connerly also thinks people should have more consideration based on socioeconomics rather than race, and the site criticizes him for spending money campaigning rather than giving his money to the poor. As if it makes sense to try and help just some people a little bit, or try to help a lot of people indirectly. He came to Truman State University in Kirksville, MO to speak last year (I didn't get to see him, and didn't know who he was at the time anyway). I wish I had heard exactly what he had to say.

I think Affirmative Action is considered liberal, and banning it is considered conservative. Pro-AA people try to make it seem like voting against it means you're racist. Cheap shot, guys. I know we have a way to go, but I think people need to change their whole view on this, and keeping laws which make it the for front of people's minds doesn't help.

"Obama and affirmative action"

"Obama and Affirmative Action"
Article from Boston.com November 15th, 2008

Obama is for Affirmative Action. But he admits his children is are well-off and shouldn't be one of the people who are affected by affirmative action. Here we see that the socio-economics plays a more important deciding factor than race---in my opinion.

"But the relevant question is not what America might do for the Obama girls, but what they could one day do for an increasingly diverse nation where by 2050 "minorities" will make up more than half of the population, according to Census Bureau predictions."

Are we going to keep helping only the minority, even if they aren't minorities anymore? Or should we be making possibilities available to everyone?

"Time is running out - at least legally. In 2003, then-Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor set a clock ticking when she wrote the Grutter v. Bollinger ruling. The court defended the University of Michigan's "narrowly-tailored use of race" in its law school admissions process as a means of creating a diverse student body. The caveat: "The Court expects that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today."

25 years?! That seems quite a long time for the justice and equality we should already have.



I know I have been focusing on admissions, were I strongly believe that against Affirmative Action, but I wonder how others feel about it in the work place. Is it still necessary there? Is racism a big enough factor for employers to discriminate? (Just saying that makes me think not). I know Dateline (or some other primetime news channel) once did a "study" when they had similarly qualified applicants apply for the same job, but one was more attractive than the other. If I remember correctly the more attractive applicant got the job all, or at least most of the time. Do you think the same would go for race, even if the minority is more qualified? I'm not completely sure about this area of Affirmative Action.

University of California-Berkley, Keepin' it Real

When universities give preference to one race over another, it will create resentment between races, widening the divide, and give the benefited race a sense that they are victims and need to be helped. The most noticeable case of this is perhaps the University of California-Berkeley which became almost the poster child for inequality in admissions in 2000. John Moore, the former chairman of the university regents, spoke out against what he considered the unfair practice of Berkeley’s admissions, where white and Asian applicants were seemingly
discriminated against (Yang). He reported that the university (not just UC Berkeley, but also UCLA, and UC Santa Barbra) would admit black and Hispanic students with below average SAT scores over similarly qualified white or Asian students. The president of UC, Robert Dynes then asked his own office to investigate Moores’ “outrageous” claims.

The results of their study were grim. They found that, given the same qualifications, a black or Hispanic student would have a 54% chance of being admitted, while a white student would only have 24% chance of being admitted (Yang)!

It gets worse.

Moore expanded on their findings in 2003 study when he found that hundreds of below average SAT scores were being admitted and thousands of higher-than-average scorers were being rejected. And more than half of those students with below average scores were black and Hispanic students.

How do you think these applicants would feel if they found out their race was the reason they were rejected from the school of their choice? Do you think they would be understanding that the school wanted diversity or do you think they would be feel like race was more important than how hard they might have worked in high school? I think such a policy, which puts so much emphasis on race, also creates a false importance of race in the minds of those it affects; shattering the idea of true equality that America has been trying to promote.

Political science professor, Andrew Hacker commented on the situation at Berkeley and Affirmative Action when he said that it is “a disservice, by placing them in a college for which they are not properly prepared,” (Hacker, 163). Citing his own study which found that, of the underrepresented students who were admitted even though they were below Berkeley’s standards, only 20% end up graduating.

How you can tell someone's from out of state at UW

"Educate yourselves, friends"

Racism!

The controversial campaign/election of Obama.
Why so much fuss?

BECAUSE HE'S LEFT HANDED!

College admissions claim to want to claim to want to diversify their student body so that that students will have a more worldly experience, but trying to achieve a perfect ratio of races when considering college admissions doesn’t quite seem like what college is about. This “reverse discrimination” is still discrimination nonetheless and shouldn’t be part of an academic setting. As an underrepresented minority, I don’t want to be singled out as someone who needs special help, or someone who has been valued by my race rather than my merit, and I don’t want to be haunted by the idea that I was only admitted to a university because of my race. Race isn’t something earned, chosen, or worked for; it is some, unchangeable part of a person that they were born with. It would be a no more appropriate qualification for college admissions than a movement to admit more left-handed people (or if they’re lucky, ambidextrous people). Then the 90 some percent of right-handed students would be better able to empathize with the plight of the minority left-handers.

I blame myself, a right-hander for not being more considerate of the hardships that left-handers must have to overcome throughout their life. The jeers, the stares, and just how much it must hold them back in general. I believe we need to have equal representation of both left-handed people and right handed people! We have two hands! But when they come together, work together, then we can truly be a nation again!!!!

:/

The Poor Kids on the Block

Front the book Equity and Excellence in American Higher Education (copywrite 2005)

How'd you like that?

Merit vs. Socioeconomic

"Please sah, can I have some more?"

Am I proposing that those with lower income get the almost automatic admissions that minorities have gotten in the past?

No.

I still believe that there those will lower income show merit, drive, and an overall want to be educated and improve their stations in life. They should get concessions in the way that, maybe they only took 3 AP classes in high school because their high school only offered four. They shouldn't be down-credited because their school has limited resources. If you look at one school and the student has taken a foreign language for 6 years and 10 AP classes, maybe engineering classes, maybe this maybe that...because their school is able to offer it to them. I know my high school (probably like most high schools) sends out a school report which evaluates the school, with statistics like average grade, maybe number of AP classes offered (I never actually read it) etc. I think it would be affective the admissions board looked closely at things like that.

I know I girl who was able to go to African for a few months and help people there. I'm sure that looked amazing on her resume, but not all of our parents can afford to fly us around to 3rd world countries like financed superheros. (She went to a private high school, graduated early, and went to MIT).

My friend at UNL had a roommate who has very low income and was paying for college herself. But she didn't seem to have a real drive to be in the university, as much as she had a drive for her boyfriend, whom she transfered to that school for. She would sleep through her morning classes, sometimes past 11 o'clock, and then would not be seen again until like 1:00am when her boyfriend dropped her off (if at all) so who knows if she went to those classes. During the first month of school she was in a panic about affording college, even found a job, but then once she found out that the financial aid office would let her pay whenever she could before the end of the semester. She quit her job and didn't find a new one. It's now the end of the semester and she has $4,000 left to pay and loan brochures are stacked on her desk.

I would not go far enough to say that she doesn't deserve to be here, that she is unworthy of an education. There many people who come to college and drop-out for not doing the work, whether their low income, or minority students, or regular Joes. What I want to say is that if a college is going to pay for you to come to their school, like a business, they will want someone who is reliable, dedicated, and will use the the money they give them to the fullest.

At the sad risk of sounding egotistical: compare this person's situation to mine. I pay for college myself, and my parents couldn't help if they wanted to. I got straight A's my first year, and am doing well this year. I found a work study job on campus early during the summer to start working in fall, and have already gotten a raise (meager) for working hard. I'm also taking 18 credit hours so that I can graduate on time with a major and two minors. I'm also probably going to have to take summer classes (how am I going to pay for them, who knows!?) and am applying for the McNair Program.

I want to be here. As mega-dorky as it sounds, I love learning. I usually find at least something in a class interesting, or at least the passion of my professors. And if I enjoy the subject matter to, I am in awe that I'm lucky enough to be there.

In my introduction, I said that I dreamed, when I was little, of going to Harvard. Not to because of the prestige of the school, but as a symbol of my hope-knowing, dream, fantasy, destiny that I would be able to rise out of my situation and still be able to live the American Dream.

1. Merit & Talent
2. Socioeconomics

Not

Merit & Talent OR Socioeconomics

Special Election Update!

#1. Thank GOD!

#2. Initiative 424 in Nebraska to end affirmative action passed!

"Proposal 424...

• Reflects the colorblind language of the 1964 Civil Rights Act -- because equal treatment is the essence of civil rights.

• Ends discrimination against groups and individuals based on race or sex for state employment, university admissions, and public contracting.

• Bans quotas and set-aside programs giving every person a fair chance to compete for good paying jobs and college admissions.

Proposal 424 DOES NOT...

• Affect public health facilities, including breast cancer screening centers, fair housing programs, or private scholarships.

• Eliminate outreach or true equal opportunity programs."

Nebraska + Affirmative Action

Affirmative action debated in Nebraska
by Jean Oritz

Ending Affirmative Action was on the ballot this year in Nebraska ( Initiative Measure 424) and I'm sure you all know how I voted.

Jean Oritz points out a very good point in regards to AA, this year we had both a woman and an African American senator running for president and a female vice president nominee, so doesn't this mean we've progressed further than some are giving us credit to?

Ward Connerly has been going around the country trying to get Affirmative Action on the ballots, and this year they were able make it in Nebraska and Colorado.

Hope everyone voted today!

Stanford Education---ON SALE!

Stanford University's Financial Aid Page / Amazing.

Can you getting a Stanford education for less than you are paying to go to the University of Wyoming?

"Stanford is dedicating an additional $20.7 million to need-based scholarships for undergraduates in academic year 2008-2009. "

By doing this, those with academic/talent merit are able to over-look their hesitations about the cost of getting the education "they worked for."

Some of its highlights include:

1. Zero parent contribution expected for those from families who earn less than $60,000 but students aren't home free, Stanford expects them to donate a part of their summer and part-time wages towards their education. A more than fair price for students whose parents may be "regular-" or well-off but who have to pay for school themselves.

2. Tuition waived for students whose parents make less thatn $100,000.

"Stanford will ensure that all tuition charges are covered with need-based scholarship, federal and state grants, and/or outside scholarship funds."

Tuition, which ranges around $30,000 per year, will be waived, and the only cost the student is expected to pay is the $11,000 room and board costs!

3. Students are not expected to take out loans to pay for college.
Stanford offers students work-studies (jobs on campus) for about $2500 a year. But unlike other schools, the average wage of workers is about $11 an hours meaning they will only have to work 7.5 hours a week! Students are expected to contribute $2,000 from summer earnings. Again, very reasonable.


Colleges which receive heavy endowments from the government (Stanford's is $17 billion) or high donations are able to make this amazing opportunity for students a reality. Stanford is following in the same footsteps of Princeton and Yale who are also able to give students an affordable ivy league education.

This concept shows the best way to determine admissions: MERIT. No matter what, if you show enough talent, enthusiasm, and ability to get into theses school you deserve to go there, no matter what. You aren't cast aside because of race and you aren't discouraged because of your income.

Article About Stanford from the International Herald Tribune.

Out Reach

Going along with my last post, I have two friends of mixed race who also hate the out-reach program.

My friend sent a very aggressive letter to the Multicultural Affairs office when they had sent her an "end of the year review" email asking her what she thought of the emails they sent her.

The gist of it was that she did not, in fact appreciated it and that she did not sign of up for it and that she had repeatedly requested being taken off it. And it ended with something like "I am not a stupid, poor Mexican that needs your help"

Wanna Be A Minority?

Fragments of being minority on campus. Meant to amuse, not to inform:

GOOD MORNING WORLD! Let's check our email....

[glares, despairs, sighs] Thanks, UW Multicultural Affairs for flooding my inbox with you duplicate copies of your newsletter which I don't want and won't read! And I'm glad you have a newletter practically every other day! If I have four in my WyoWeb inbox, I know I'll have at least two in my personal email which you somehow have also! Yeay! Thanks also for singling my out and making me feel like I shouldn't fit in with everyone else.

Thanks, but no thanks, I think I can be a person all myself.


I resent that I have to be group as a minority when I feel like I am a person with a perosnality before that. I hate distinctions of any kind, positive or negative. I strongly believe in the merits of people, not just academically, but in their character, behavior, values, etc. I had no say in where I "came from" (which quite literally was Nebraksa) but I have unqiue choices that I make which define me.

Last year I went to Truman State University and for some reason everytime I would have another Asian student in a class with me they would facebook friend me within a week with a hokey phrase and an emoticon. Not that I'm not for making friends and meeting new people, but I hated, HATED the fact that they only wanted to be my friend because of my race. Even though they just wanted to find someone to connect with...blah blah blah. And, not only would they friend me, but their friends, who I didn't even know would friend me too. And those friends of people I didn't even know would comment on deeply archived photos which I had entirely forgotten about ( "LOL this is a funny pic. U R too cute!").

I don't know how to say this without sounding mean, but I imagine them walking around in tight pods which creep closer and closer to any other asian they see on the sidewalk and they get sucked into the middle of this pod and are never seen again. Ever.

And I know how this is. My mom also asks me how Asian people from my elementary school are doing. People I haven't talked to in years. She wants to know what's the up-and-up on all the asian people who I might know over all my other actual friends, but I couldn't care less. She probably wants me to compare their success to mine and no matter who "wins" suggest that I should have done something different anyway and been better off.



And now you know.

Penny to the Wise

My roommate can't afford to attend the University of Wyoming, but she's here. The last deadline for payment for this semester was last Friday, October 17th. And she hasn't paid the full bill.

Because she can't afford it, does that mean she doesn't deserve to be here? She has merit enough to be accepted by enrollment and get a music scholarship, but don't buy what you can't afford?

It makes sense in the domestic world when one is exchange money for goods and then immediately using those goods. But when we talk about education, we're talking about investing. We are getting our degrees not necessarily for the fun and prestige of it, but we know down the the road it will help us get a better job and live comfortably. That's why those that can't afford it are more willing to take out loans---the likelihood of them obtaining a better job with a college degree increases dramatically, just as finishing high school makes a difference. NPR's personal finance expert, Chris Ferrell, considers student loans "good loans," loans you want. Not only that, but a nation wants educated people (what economists term "human capital) because they will be the ones who pioneer new technology, or will be able to lead, or teach next generations, etc.

The value of education is priceless...but also very expensive. This goes beyond attending the luxury private school, but even more reasonably priced public universities. I claimed earlier that race is a poor reason for someone to be given help in the admissions process, so why should income be treated any differently and be given concessions?

1. Economists David Ellwood and Thomas Kane discovered that the role of family background in influencing post-secondary “training choices” has been increasing overtime. Meaning, it may be harder for those in "bad neighborhoods" to get the proper encouragement and guidance they need in planning their future. A college education can make a unparalleled difference in the outcome of someone's life. A study by the College Board backed this up when they found that only 54% of those from families in the bottom quartile enrolled in college, compared to the 82% from those in the top quartile. If they can't afford it, why should they even bother?

2. The child’s expectations are shaped by their environment, and Michael McPherson and Morton Schapiro, co-authors on a book about financing college, concluded that the lower the income, the less likely a student was to apply to a prestigious college, the less likely that they would be admitted, and the less likely they would enroll if accepted; despite their qualifications.

3. And unlike minorities, and in some cases athletes who are admitted more carelessly, low income students who are admitted are more likely to succeed.


Having a low income is more disadvantageous that being a minority. There are some districts where over 75% of the students have free or reduced lunch. Schools like this are simply unable to afford the same services that other schools can offer. The book Equity and Excellence described situations in low-income neighborhoods where 36% of the teachers left midyear. These students are struggling with an incomplete education, no matter how much they work and they shouldn't suffer for it. A study compared the average cost of of money spend on students, about $7000 being the average, found that in low-income neighborhoods (the study used Detroit) only about $4000 was spent per child, and in high-income neighborhoods about $11000-12000 dollars were spent.

These are circumstances that are brought upon students but which can be improved Unlike race, income hampers the quality of education a child receives and therefore the ability of them to properly demonstrate their abilities. And coming from a poor environment may hamper their success as well. I believe there is a false assumption that minorities need more help because minorities are 10 times more likely to attend a poorly funded school. But a minority shouldn't be favored over a white child who attend lived through the same situation as they had.


Sure, it would be great if we could have an admissions process based solely on merit and talent. And the solution could be leveling the school systems (NOT by No Child Left Behind) and putting more funding into struggling schools, etc. But we don't live in a fantasy world where solutions can be quickly solved by doling out money we really don't have.

Give a penny to the wise, and the penniless.

Midterms

Sorry for the infrequent posting. I hope next week to overwhelm the public with information

"One WSU Perspective" - Article

Quote taken from http://affirmtheactions.wordpress.com/ Affirmative Action Blog on March 31, 2008 title "One WSU Perspective":

2. Are you FOR or AGAINST affirmative action in regards to the role it plays in the college admissions process?

I am for Affirmative Action in regards to the role it plays in the college admission process. I believe that it opens doors, opportunities and avenues that were not originally afforded to people who are at a loss, financially as well as racially.

I was annoyed that this blog doesn't allow comments. Ideas like these and directives like Affirmative action create a stigma that minorities are in some way inferior to perpetuate that they are victims who need help which I do not believe. It is not impossible for minorities to become successful even if they come from a difficult background.

Affirmative Action is meaningful to me because I'm an underrepresented minority in the lowest income bracket. My mother works part-time as a hairdresser (and in my opinion--- as a involuntary client---she's not very good; plus her customer base consists mostly of old ladies who are thinning out as time goes on...) and my father has been unemployed because of a disability all my life. We made do, I feel fine. Where you come from, I believe, only has a little to do with what you can accomplish.

What I think needs to most attention in admissions process and in dealing with who needs to most help is income. Which I think is mixed up with race far too much. There are/may be a lot of minorities who live in "bad neighborhoods" but I do not believe they should receive more help than the white residents. I hope to more closely address the issue of income in my next blog which I have just introduced.

"I believe that it opens doors, opportunities and avenues that were not originally afforded to people who are at a loss"

Shouldn't everyone be given opportunities?

Professors Meeting

J Pham

Congratulations on Being White---5 points.

"If two people apply for a job, college admission, scholarship or other scrutinized entity, should one be given better treatment than the other because of their skin color?"
-Greg Chick "Time to Rethink Affirmative Action?"

This article lightly summarizes some of the topics I want to discuss in this blog with it's anti-affirmative action argument. I acknowledge that there was a time in our society when such measures of affirmative action where necessary to level the playing field and get qualified minorities the positions/education they deserved. But today? I agree with Chick that it is time to rethink the goals of Affirmative Action. If want college admissions (specifically in my experience) to be truly fair, school would look at merit instead of race.

In my last post I was trying to write a little segue into college admissions, not a life long desire to go to Harvard---although I failed. What I want my readers to think about is what they would feel like if they found out that they weren't admitted to a school they wanted to go to and were qualified to go to. And then to find out later that a student who didn't meet the same standards was admitted because of their race. It's unfair.

It's ridiculous to try to create "perfect ratio" of ethnicities in college over those who are more qualified. And I want to emphasize that it is not just the underrepresented minorities that are getting pushed into a college that they may not have the skills for, but "over-represented" minorities that are getting denied college admissions even if they are qualified--this was the case at University of California, Berkly where many qualified to over-qualified Asian students were denied admission.

And of course I can't talk about Affirmative Action in the admissions processes without mentioning the University of Michigan whose admission policies were actually found unconstitutional in 2002 and had to be changed:

Michigan's admissions was based on a 150 system with those applying needing at least 100 points to be automatically admitted. And in their system Black and Hispanic students were award and automatic 20 points.

Not too bad right?...Well it is considering that other characteristics like an “outstanding essay, leadership, or personal achievement” were each worth only 3 points.

"Diversity is a good thing. It makes us a better institution, state and country. But let's not unfairly and wrongly achieve this admirable goal. Let's have a discussion about how rightly we can ensure a diverse environment for all of us, not at the expense of qualified individuals being left out."

Chew on that.

Etiology of Me or this Blog

My desk in the dorm room of the first college I went to.

When I was little I was under the impression that I had the potential and means to accomplish anything my tiny heart wanted. I distinctly remember writing in my second grade journal that---on the newsprint paper with the bold blue lines---that one day I would go the "Harvrd." What would I do there? What did I want to be when I grew up? What would I study? How would I afford it? These were trivial questions to me.

My mom only laughed when she read it.

Evidentially, I did not end up at an ole timey little school in Massachusetts. And this was not because there was some great injustice done to me, but rather a culmination of different faults.

I have been a straight A student since elementary school, in high school I was president of three clubs, and active member or officers in others. Elected to senior council and National Honor Society. Volunteered weekly at a hospital among other places. Was on the junior varsity tennis team. Worked. AP Classes....

Blah blah blah BLAH

As I entered my senior year I realized that all this fluff wasn't really important. That more than half of students applying anyway had my exact resume if not better. So I wonder: What does push admissions over the edge or hold them back?

Would it be the fact that I sincerely cherished the thought and work it takes to get an education?
Would it be my race?
Would it be the fact that it would be the fact that I'm low income?

Where we attend college can change our lives. I sincerely hope that our admission is not prevented by something trivial. That could be the greatest loss we never experience.

An Introduction

The College block will be part of an ongoing project for my "Writing for Public Forums" class that will last a minimum of 9 weeks. So I apologize now to any would-be future fans if my enthusiasm gradually or abruptly dies down after that period ends.

The subject of my blog will be my views on Affirmative Action as it affect on the college admissions process, and possibly how minorities are singled out throughout...perhaps life. It's something that interests me and that I have found annoying all my life as a minority.

And as I predict that this topic lends it self to a grim read, I plan on also intermixing the stories of people who it might affect, and light-hearted observations on my college experience.