Posted on 12/11/2004 9:31:27 PM PST by Huber
When you lower expectations, you get predictable results. Affirmative action is a disincentive for performance, distorts the competitive marketplace, and exacerbates cultural problems. That said, the transparency provided by this study is a good first stop toward discussing the problem factually.
bump
I'm thinking ... if unqualified students are admitted to law schools, and therefore don't graduate or don't pass the bar exams ... doesn't that mean that we'll have fewer lawyers than we would otherwise? I think I like this outcome!
28 years ago, as part of my "working my way through college", I had a job in the U. of Illinois Law School compiling statistics on race, test scores, GPA and admissions. The same patterns seen in this 2003 study held true then. Nothing has changed. Government-sanctioned racial discrimination is alive and well.
Because they like affirmative action so long as it doesn't effect them ... kind of a "do as I say, not as I do" mentality. Did NBC replace Brokaw with a black? Of course not. Will CBS replace Rather with a black? Highly unlikely.
Too bad they didn't break this down by gender as well. I suspect the probability of being admitted to any of these schools approaches unity for black females.
- Black students were recruited by the school; white students were not
- Black students were accepted with significantly lower GPAs
- Black students were accepted with significantly lower LSATs
- Black students went through a 6-week primer during the Summer before the first year, giving them a nice leg up; white students were not permitted to attend
- During the 1st semester, special tutoring classes were available in the evenings to Black students; white students were not permitted to attend despite going to the dean and asking for permission to do so
- During the 2nd semester, all black students were permitted to attend the tutoring sessions, even a black woman who had made Dean’s List the first semester; the only white students allowed to attend the tutoring classes during the 2nd semester were those with a 1st semester GPA below 2.0, which meant that they were on probation and would be expelled if their GPA was still below 2.0 after the 2nd semester
- There were career fairs for black students only
- One black male failed all 10 1st year classes – all 10! Rather than being expelled as the rules called for, he was offered the opportunity to go through the Summer primer again and repeat the first year. To his credit, he declined and moved on with his life
According to the administration – who heard constant complaints about this blatant racism – the ABA forced these programs on law schools and threatened their accreditation if the schools didn’t comply. I don’t know if this was true or not.
I happen to work in one of the three universities involved in this document, and for two years one of my duties was to read through the applications of all incoming freshmen (a rather small number, but I won't identify the school any further) looking for wealth indicators of their parents.
One student had a Hispanic last name, is the son of an undersecretary of one of the armed services, lives in a rather exclusive Northern Virginia neighborhood, and did not check off any of the boxes indicating race. Nevertheless, one of the school officials reviewing the application noted for the others that he's Hispanic and should be commended (given extra points) for not checking off the 'Hispanic' box. Needless to say, he got in; his SATs, grades, and extra-curriculars were deserving, and he wasn't trying to use race as a trump card, but the 'helpful' school officials assumed from his family name that he's Hispanic and gave him the "extra credit."
I also came across two applicants with very similar credentials (neither one of which was exceptional), except for the black female whose parents are a doctor and a lawyer, and the white male whose father is a truck driver and mother is a small-town newspaper editor. Guess which one got a full scholarship...
"You know, I'm going to start thanking
the woman who cleans the restroom in
the building I work in. I'm going to start
thinking of her as a human being"
I would have to reply, "Which box do you check, Mr. O'Brien, since your people obviously aren't white?" ;>)
"Law school was the worst. This is what went on:"
Get some names, dates, facts together so this can be used effectively. Others besides you who can vouch for this...your classmates, etc. Ping me with updates.
Another thing that happened was that we had a white woman who had a GPA of about 2.2 after the 1st semester and she, like most of us, was struggling with the Property class during the 2nd semester (Property is archaic and a real "B"). She wanted to attend the Property tutoring class. She was denied the opportunity to attend the Property tutoring class despite the fact that the black woman who was Dean's List after the 1st semester was permitted to attend.
Probably true, and not limited to the ABA and law schools.
I went to b-school and had to take some dumb "computer" tests to get a bi on an otherwise mandatory
computer skills class.
"I have a CS degree and worked on ..." "I know, but it's an accreditation requirement ..."
So I had to leave work early and take the dang competency tests.
Because Dan Rather didn't get along with Connie Chung?
Thanks for the info.
"Hello, I'm Will Smith, and you're not" doesn't quite work.
Vanessa Williams could pull it off. Even do interviews.
Halle Berry might be able to read the teleprompter, but I doubt she could do anything else, especially live.
There are a number of other black actors that exude trust, but past their primes, that would do great jobs.
Black "journalists" in the "anchor chair"? Tavis Smiley? Juan Williams? Derrick Jackson? Jayson Blair?
Janet Cooke? Patricia Smith?
That's pretty sad. I don't get how they think they're helping. I'm against ALL forms of preferences.
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