Dear Americans,
Affirmative action was never about admitting unqualified Black kids. It was always about ensuring qualified Black kids could also get accepted despite a world of systemic racism.
The “unqualified admission” you’re thinking of are legacy students—like how Kavanaugh got into Yale.
And there was reporting/testimony he sexually assaulted Dr. Ford and at least one other classmate.
@MaybeMyMonkeys @skykiss I think the disagreement is in how best to balance them, not whether they're balanced. Anyone not hiding in a cave knows there isn't "balance".
I think the disconnect is in how to address it: some want policies to push "groups" up or down, while others are uncomfortable with that and want an individualistic approach.
Here's two quotes I read recently:
1.) "Asians are 6% of the population & 26% of Harvard admissions"
2.) "Practically speaking... (Harvard) effectively mandated that Asian-American applicants score 140 points higher than white students"
Which pisses you off more?
As far as I can tell most people like the individualist philosophy: affirmative action polls pretty badly.
About half of Asian adults who have heard of affirmative action say it is a good thing. But about three-quarters of all Asian adults say race or ethnicity should not factor into college admissions decisions.
ALDC == athletes, legacies, connections of donors, and children of faculty and staff
From 2020 data:
1) Whites are 64.1% of the population & 55.7% of Harvard admissions?
"Among white admits, over 43% are ALDC. Among admits who are African American, Asian American, and Hispanic, the share is less than 16% each."
2) Practically speaking, (at Harvard) how many points lower do ALDC students score compared to non-ALDC students?
I haven't been able to figure out the answer to the 2nd question but, almost 75% of the white ALDC admits to Harvard would not be admitted without ALDC status.
Here's the data, 2019 full paper: https://tinyurl.com/yxr3zy5k
From the abstract: "Removing preferences for athletes and legacies would significantly alter the racial distribution of admitted students, with the share of white admits falling and all other groups rising or remaining unchanged."
Which pisses you off more? I suspect it depends on how the question is framed and your position in the frame
So much of the "Might Makes Right" ideology of racist Republicans can be explained by the allure of unaccountable power & crimes with impunity
The "right" to abuse the poor, migrants, PoC, and women.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/30/us/politics/affirmative-action-college-admissions-supreme-court.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/09/the-uncomfortable-truth-about-campus-rape-policy/538974/
The "right" to abuse children and evade accountability. Lawsuits just become a cottage industry & "cost of doing business".
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/23/us/illinois-catholic-church-sex-abuse.html
https://www.vox.com/culture/23131530/southern-baptist-convention-sexual-abuse-scandal-guidepost
https://apnews.com/article/california-child-sexual-assault-lawsuit-settlement-b0b80f5f6cd3fdb3882f8ba4ed78bc29
@ech https://www.dailykos.com/history/user/CajsaLilliehook?sort_by=time&sort_direction=asc
Start at #1 and read through all 1,025 entries.
Daily Kos is a progressive news site that fights for democracy by giving our audience information and resources to win elections and impact government. Our coverage is assiduously factual, ethical, and unapologetically liberal. We amplify what we think is important, with the proper context—not just what is happening, but how it's happening and why people should care. We give you news you can do something about.
The GOP made excuses during #MeToo , the Roger Ailes / Bill O'Reilly scandal, and during Brett Kavanagh's confirmation.
For the GOP, it's never an issue of right or wrong, it is always about political or economic gain.
"Ruining a boy's future over a few youthful indiscretions" figured prominently.
https://prospect.org/labor/cultures-impunity/
https://www.equalitynow.org/news_and_insights/the-culture-of-impunity-needs-to-be-addressed/
The media framed it as "the accusers of Roger Ailes" instead of ...
1/2
2/2
... "Roger Ailes & Bill O'Reilly - decades long sexual predators".
https://www.axios.com/2017/12/15/heres-a-list-of-all-the-oreillyailes-accusers-1513301331
Impunity culture is part of a deeply ingrained culture of public corruption
@skykiss Let's also talk, every time there is discussion about Affirmative Action, about the fundamental problem that there are not enough slots for everyone who is qualified and wants to go to those colleges.
And before anyone says, "Those students can go to public universities - but there's only so many slots at Harvard and Yale", remember that one of the two cases decided yesterday gutted Affirmative Action program at a public North Carolina state uni.
Maybe we should be talking about expanding colleges and building some new public universities (or upgrading some existing community colleges to full Unis).
But also, it's well known that going to elite colleges will position you to make a bit more money and get better jobs, when hiring managers see that you graduated from an elite college, and going to elite colleges grants you access to elite fraternities/sororities/honor societies, and other networking opportunities.
Not working out so well.
While the Trump administration caused a stir when it reversed policies encouraging affirmative action in higher ed, California’s public universities have been banned from using race in admissions for more than a decade—with striking results.
@skykiss Right on. Affirmative action, in our society, makes a system *more* meritocratic, not less.
And, in any case, nobody in America got to where they are today on merit alone.
@skykiss
I see both sides of the #AffirmativeAction debate, including concerns that AA would filter out qualified majority (in this case, White) applicants by decreasing the standards for minority (Black) applicants. I have this fantasy:
No AA filter. More White people than Black get hired/accepted/chosen because White have better education /networking opportunities/ whatever. Then the elementary schools/ training programs get more funding so that it's not as hard to find a qualified Black.
@skykiss
This keeps happening every year, with more Black scholarships and summer camps for as long as statistics show that Black acceptances are disproportionately low, till eventually people assume that Blacks are better qualified because they've had more training/ opportunities, the way we currently (rightly or wrongly) aren't surprised about the prominence of Asians in math, or Blacks in basketball.
So we don't change the filter ; we change the qualifications of the population.
I know, it's just a fantasy, but wouldn't it be awesome to actually get people better, and have people quit complaining "but minority hires are fewer simply because they aren't as qualified!" Okay, well, what are you going to do about it?
... well, I can dream, can't I? ...
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