Affirmative action

[bookwyrm]

I think it's really degrading. I mean, if I were to be accepted for something, anything, because I was a minority and not because I was qualified, I would be insulted. It would be like saying, 'because you're a minority, we don't think you are capable of being as good as someone else from the majority.' :angry:

[jmjtina]

Opportunity is the key.

Check out the schools near the border. You'd think you WERE in Mexico, but these are American schools. Look at thier programs, thier supplies and then compare with schools up north. Don't say it doesn't happen today, because it does.

That is WHY there is a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
That is WHY there is a University of Texas in San Antonio.

It's not just about race. It's about opportunity. Yes, it needs work, but if we base it on "merit", did everyone get a chance to achieve the "merit" society wants?

If it's for the common good, it should stay. People aren't perfect.


here's an example:
[url="http://www.maldef.org/news/press.cfm?ID=243&FromIndex=yes"]$40 Million Payment, Detailed Plan for Diversity in Employment Discrimination Suit Against Retail Giant Abercrombie & Fitch [/url]

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='jmjtina' date='Nov 20 2004, 12:43 PM'] That is WHY there is a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
That is WHY there is a University of Texas in San Antonio.
[/quote]
I'm dumb... what does this mean...?

[jmjtina]

Texas A&M College Station and University of Texas are mother schools now to schools in the south because of a big lawsuit in the past. The college education down south (University of Corpus Christi, etc) was seen as inferior to the ones up north who happened to be majortiy anglo.

And so we now have TAMUCC, UTSA, and TAMUK (kingsville).

[littleflower+JMJ]

i wish it was based on merit or most "qualified" but in the real world theres bias and discrimination. last names like Rodriguez and Lopez will stop you from getting a job-- and thats if your not even a woman (which would stack up even more odds against you)

one of the superintendents put in applications at all the north texas schools to see what would happen. He knew he was very well-qualified and had the experience that none could compare, been in the state board and committees and he got none because they all went to white men who were underqualified

sorry but sometimes all it takes is a last name to keep you from getting a job or education--no matter how qualified you are.

because nothing can really stop the bias and prejudice a person has behind the registration desk in college or the hiring manager at a job you need.

thats why affirmative action is needed. i would not have made it through college--im not an all merit scholar--but i am working my butt off for my education because i know i need it. I'm achieving at the same capacity as those who society said "had merit", why should I be denied if I CAN do the same (if not better) work? and i would not even be in school w/o that chance.

you want to help end poverty? education is the way to do it.......the problem comes when no one wants to give you it.

"Education is our Freedom, and Freedom should be Everybody's Business" -Dr. Hector P. Garcia


the day when everyone has an equal opportunity is the day we will no longer need affirmative action. -_-

Merit as well shouldn't be defined as a test score.

Pax.

[M.SIGGA]

I think it's good for places that still refuse to integrate in the South like my racist high school lol.

[hopeful1]

what about racial quotas?

[hopeful1]

[quote name='bookwyrm' date='Nov 19 2004, 11:59 PM'] I think it's really degrading. I mean, if I were to be accepted for something, anything, because I was a minority and not because I was qualified, I would be insulted. It would be like saying, 'because you're a minority, we don't think you are capable of being as good as someone else from the majority.' :angry: [/quote]
that's what i thought about it at first too. it almost does sound intrinsically degrading.

[jmjtina]

[quote name='hopeful1' date='Nov 21 2004, 11:07 AM'] that's what i thought about it at first too. it almost does sound intrinsically degrading. [/quote]
For the majority, you either accept a scholarship, or you don't go to college.

It's that simple.

For us who depend on those scholarships, we accept. Are you going to pay for my college to help me feel better, so I don't feel "degraded"? Didn't think so.....

There are FOUR people in my household that are in college. Two of us in grad school.

Did ya read the link?

Edited November 21, 2004 by jmjtina

[hopeful1]

[quote name='jmjtina' date='Nov 21 2004, 06:25 PM'] For the majority, you either accept a scholarship, or you don't go to college.

It's that simple.

For us who depend on those scholarships, we accept. Are you going to pay for my college to help me feel better, so I don't feel "degraded"? Didn't think so.....

There are FOUR people in my household that are in college. Two of us in grad school.

Did ya read the link? [/quote]
oh, i'm not disagreeing with you, I'm actually seeing a need for a affirmative action, the comment i made reflected what i used to think about it. And i did read the link, i may even use that to support affirmative action in my paper. It definately shows how racial discrimination in buisness still exists today. and if someone offered me a scholarship, i'd probably take it too.

[SirMyztiq]

Im glad about what happened to Abercrombie!

Everytime I walk in there there was a white guy with a tight shirt to the right and a white guy wearing a tight shirt to the left and nothing but white people working there. Too Obvious!!

Well, how about those that don't need a scholarship and have mommy and daddy to pay for it? I don't know about you but I sure think that they weren't minorities back in the King days.


Affirmative action is here to stay. It's not discrimination toward whites. And it doesn't show that minorities are stupid. It just shows that minorities are clearly at a disadvantage from hundreds of years of oppression.

[cmotherofpirl]

If people were hired on merit, we wouldn't need affirmative action programs.
However it rarely works that way.

[Kilroy the Ninja]

It's a shame too. If only there was a way to interview people without seeing or hearing them first....

some truly fair way....


that would be the most fair.

[Sojourner]

I just had lunch with a friend of mine today who has experienced some pretty overt discrimination. She went back to school for a law degree after having been in the workforce for some time. Now she's in her 40s. When she was interviewing for a job just before graduation, she had a guy ask her, "What's a woman your age doing going to law school?" The same guy asked her about her last name, which is Arabic (she's of Italian heritage, but married to a man of Middle-Eastern descent).

Needless to say, she didn't get an offer. Not that she'd have wanted to work there anyway.

[conservativecatholic]

Affirmative action is unfair, sexist, prejudice, and racist. College admissions should be based on merit alone! People interviewing for jobs should be chosen by their merit as well. What is America coming to?????

[cmotherofpirl]

On the other hand, some people would never get a chance at many jobs unless the companys were forced to hire minorities.
The old school system and nepotism works very effectively to keep many people out of good jobs.

[McSockPuppet]

I dont know if anyone has already mentioned this, simply becaus Im too lazy to read all of these postings...but Affirmative Action is not simply for minority students. It is certainly geared toward race, but not completely. I come from what they call a "Socially Undeveloped Area". My area is full of blue coller employees, and many problems concerning alcohol. I know that this program is rather helpful. Certainly it needs to be modified, but I like the principal.