affirmative action

White “Suffering”

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The Dangerous Belief that White People are Under Attack (2017), by Dr. Clara Wilkins, reminds me of a conversation that I had with my extended family a few years ago. My aunt, (and old, white, wealthy, surprisingly liberal woman) was talking about how her alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania was using affirmative action when looking at applications. My aunt was expressing her frustration about how white students are now being “discriminated against” because students of color now have a …

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Affirmative Action… Not Gaining Traction

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On April 6th, 2018, The U.S. Justice Department announced that it might formally enter a lawsuit accusing Harvard University of discriminating against Asian American applicants as the agency probes its admissions policies for potential civil rights violations. On April 10th, the case moved a step further as a U.S. district judge proposed a tentative October trial date and suggested ground rules for admissions records to be made public in upcoming months. Harvard denies the allegations and is seeking to prevent …

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Asian-Americans and Affirmative Action

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Students walk through the University of Texas at Austin campus. A case before the U.S. Supreme Court challenges the school's consideration of race in its admissions.Asian-Americans Face Dilemma In Debate Over Affirmative Action

NPR Story from Nov. 2012

“Six weeks ago, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, a case that challenges the consideration of race in college admissions…. petitioner Abigail Fisher’s main brief… asserts that the university’s use of race in admissions discriminates against Asian-Americans, who are deemed to be “over-represented.” Asian-American civil rights organizations filed briefs on both sides of the case.”

According to the article, an opinion is expected in June 2013.

Many Asian-Americans face a “model-minority” stereotype. How do you think this plays into college admissions? Should Asian-Americans be excluded from affirmative action policies? Are Asian-Americans as homogenous of a group as they are often treated?

College denies diversity?

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In this blog post I want to bring up something that actually discovered earlier today. A friend of mine transferred from Muhlenberg to Smith College, an all girls college in Massachusetts a couple years ago. When speaking with her today, she told me about a Smith alum, Anne Spurzem, who posted a letter about how adding diversity to Smith College is virtually ruining it. Here are two links that discuss (and present) the letter to the editor:

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