University of Georgia has determined that AA is a good idea.

[The Backlash Cometh]

Almost five years after the University of Georgia eliminated race as a factor in its admissions decisions, a faculty committee has recommended reinstating it in the hope of enrolling more black students.

Since an appeal-court ruling in favor of three white women who had been turned down for admission, the university has selected college freshmen purely on the basis of academic performance. That period has seen the percentage of black incoming freshmen drop from between 5.5 percent and 7 percent to a low this year of 4.5 percent.

<snip>

This fall, 418 black applicants were accepted and 202 black students ended up enrolling, making up 4.5 percent of a class that numbered 4495. Georgia's population is 28.7 percent black, according to the 2000 U.S. census.

The faculty recommendation would add consideration of racial, linguisitic, experiential, and geographic diversity for applicants who are academically neither strong enough to be automatically admitted nor weak enough to be denied.

Original article was in the Los Angeles Times. The above is an excerpt from the Orlando Sentinel. I don't have an net link.

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. Oh, what wonderful news!

This means that civil rights still lives in America. Oh yah for the Democratic party!

crickets.

[dr.strangelove]

2. Get out - they determined AA is a good idea.

Wow, the idea that multiple cultures and perspectives may actually add something to the learning process. This will probably raise all kinds of hell though.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. At first I thought your signature said:

I like MLK and cookies.

LOL!

[dr.strangelove]

8. Well I do love cookies

As for Dr. King, its more of a respect than love, but I won't argue with your read. Maybe I will change my line to "I love MLK and cookies."

[Ravenseye]

3. Don't Get Mad At Me

I don't like Affirmative Action in College Admissions.

Do I support it? Yes. Do I like it? No. I'll tell you why.

Firstly, it allows us to ignore the problems with primary and secondary education in this country. If every school in the country was fairly equal in class size, books in the library, technology available to the students, etc, there would be less need of affirmative action.

The problems go beyond that, but I challenge someone here to even try and tell me that Black people aren't up to the challenge of White people. This country too often wastes too much time and energy on treating the symptoms and not the problems.

Push people out of the middle class, and the first ones out tend to be black. Underfund schools and the ones that are the hardest hit will have predominately poor and black students.

So yeah I support it until we fix the rest of the problems, but I'd rather we actually gave everyone in this country a fair chance, instead of giving them extra 'points' later on down the line.

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. I don't like it either, but it is a necessary evil.

I never saw it before living in this Republican county, but I understand now something I didn't understand before. Affirmative Action will be necessary as long as the good ole boy network exists. I don't have any confidence that the latter will ever be destroyed, so, I fear that AA will have to stand as a permanent counter correction. As people push to destroy AA, other people will push back and expose the corruptive nature of the hidden networks that perpetuate inequalities in our society. At some point, those hidden networks will realize that there is no point in using AA as a wedge issue any more. In other words, the cost benefit of stirring it up as a Willie Horton tactic will be offset by the exposure of their unfair backroom access practices.

The benefit to white Americans will come in time when this country progressively gets darker. In those areas which will be predominately Hispanic or other, they will be able to use AA to their advantage.

[Ravenseye]

9. True, but...

Affirmative Action in an otherwise blind admissions system to me shows that more work needs to be done on the earlier education of all americans. As long as rich schools have more than enough money to educate their students, and poor schools barely scrape by, the problem will remain.

While the good ole boy network causes hireing problems in the private sector, admitting a black student who has poorer scores than a white student is anything but fair as well. The system is imbalanced and unfair, so we introduce a counterbalance that is also unfair, but attempts to play the two negatives make a positive aspect.

This is necessary as long as the problem remains. I simply advocate for solving the problem, and not continually introducing additional unfairness to the system.

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. You're assuming that this world will one day be fair.

I don't believe that will ever happen. Can you really be aware about what's happening today and really foresee a time when this country will actually treat one another has equals? I don't. I've come through enough history to know. I've seen the idealistic, opened minded kids of the 60s grow up to be their parents. And now their children are as jaded and racists as they are too.

Also, though I agree the long-term solution is to fix the education problems at the lower echelons, I don't see that happening under the present climate. It's not just education. We already have good teachers. What we need is better after-school programs so that kids can have positive social & learning experiences. More intramural programs at the middle school level; more club activities.

As it stands, there are kids that have parents that work two jobs, and they themselves have to go help out which makes them too tired to do homework. Where is the long term solution for the poor? I don't think there will be one in our lifetime.

However, I will give you this. Things will get interesting the day that our Senate and legislature truly is representative of the people's will and it is as diverse in color as the U.S. population. When that day comes, and minorities not only share in power, but may indeed be found to play the same cronyistic games at the expense of other ethnic groups, well, perhaps that will be the day that AA will have served its purpose. Unless, of course, white are in the minority at the time. If that's the case, I'm sure they'll put AA into the consitution right before they get overwhelmed by the numbers.

[Brewman_Jax]

6. Everyone gets a chance

The article was on the front page of last Thursday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution (www.ajc.com). Today's letters to the editors show that quite a few aren't thrilled with the idea. The fact that white students make up at least 90% of the undergraduate population seems to lost on these people. Since UGA is state supported, the state money comes from ALL of the state's residents, regardless of race.

Cheese, on aisle 17. :eyes:

[Blue_Tires]

7. good to see they're actually trying to get more real students

instead of 'students' that run a 4.2 40 and rush for 1800 yards