For UMass, a good long look in the mirror

UMass Daily Collegian ^ | 2/13/08 | Lerner

[pabianice]

February is designated "Black History Month." Thus, it feels rather appropriate to bring up some black history and relate it to UMass. In short, UMass's black history, like this nation's black history, reflects pretty poorly on the school's treatment of blacks.

The figures for minority and Afro-American access are dismal and do not look like they are getting much better unless drastic changes occur. This is a tragic and untenable phenomenon that must be dealt with.

If we look around the UMass campus, sometimes it feels like Hitler won WWII and somehow managed to invade and conquer the United States as well. The scene is a veritable ocean of white faces, somewhat similar to a polar bear in a snow storm. Now, as rational college students with very expensive and prestigious educations, we must know that not everybody in the country is of European descent, and that there are people who were brought here as slaves several hundred years ago from Africa. Interestingly, one is hard pressed to find this population represented on campus. In fact, the numbers of African-American students enrolled are shocking. Even though they make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, African-Americans don't top 5 percent of the UMass population.

This is a case of discrimination. Obviously the administration will not admit this blatant fact, but discrimination can take many different forms and can be deliberate or subconscious. An ingenious method of the racist power structure is to change the discrimination from strictly racially-based assessments, such as "we can't take no n---ers here," which did exist, to "we can only consider financially suitable applicants for admission to the University," the current justification for racist admissions policies. One question is, if the University isn't racist, then where are the people who don't look like everyone else?

[pabianice]

It gets worse. The writer asserts that the almost universal lack of black achievement at the college level is the fault of dirty racist whites like us, not the result of black America's sullen academic suicide.

[pabianice]

“Bruce Lerner is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at bvlerner@student.umass.edu“

[ladiesview61]

Bill Cosby went to UMASS...I’d love to hear his take on this one!

[spanalot]

“The scene is a veritable ocean of white faces, somewhat similar to a polar bear in a snow storm.”

BS- Asians are the most overrepresented - white males are the most underrepresented.

http://www.whatswrongwiththeworld.net/2008/02/is_the_academy_still_a_bastion.html

[A Balrog of Morgoth]

Just ignore all those whites who joined the colors to fight the civil war, Mr. guilty white liberal.

Forget where a large number of abolitionists came from.

I believe Massachusetts has alrady done its bit, the fact that it is now a liberal sinkhole notwithstanding.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Now, as rational college students with very expensive and prestigious educations

A very prestigious and expensive ZooMass education? You have to be kidding, Bruce.

[Inwoodian]

I think Bill Cosby went to Temple.

[Melinda]

“This is a case of discrimination.”

Ah, maybe its a case of not enough apply to satisfy your version of an acceptable quota? Even if there were, if they can afford to, they’ll go elsewhere, and have already left the state along with everyone else who’s smart enough to see the socialist writing on the wall. Getting rid of Whitey Bulger’s brother as your President wasn’t enough to persuade them to bother.

[VeniVidiVici]

As Kurt Vonnegut realized, the main reason the rest of the world doesn't hate us 100 percent is because of the black American music that unites the whole world, jazz and blues.

LOL! I bet he likes listening to rap and gets some on the down low.

I bet his momma be so proud that the money doled out was well-spent.

[Melinda]

He got a post-grad degree at UMass.

[wideawake]

Even though they make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, African-Americans don't top 5 percent of the UMass population.

Actually, African-Americans are 12% of the US population and only 7% of the MA population - or the population the University of Massachusetts was designed to serve in the first place.

And, unless the high school diploma requirement that the University imposes is in itself racist, qualified African-Americans are overrepresented at UMass.

[popdonnelly]

“If we look around the UMass campus, sometimes it feels like Hitler won WWII and somehow managed to invade and conquer the United States as well.”

I’ll leave the author alone on this one, since he’s a young, uninformed, naive college undergrad.

[Vermont Lt]

Yeah, UMass is a bastion for conservative values.

My God, if this kid is not comfortable in Amherst, he ain’t gonna be comfortable anywhere.

[mbynack]

We need to lower the admission standards and give more tuition breaks to blacks. We need to invent new race-based curriculum that doesn’t require testing or actual studying.

[A_Former_Democrat]

I’m sure there are also not enough “minorities” on the staff of your paper, Mr. Lerner.

So why don’t you set an example for we unwasheds and give up your position to one of these oppressed groups?

After all, we know that your ethnic/religious background is very “overrepresented” in the media. So fair is fair.

Of course, it really depends on who’s ox it is, doesn’t it? To paraphrase Dean Wormer: “Pandering is no way to go thru live, Son.”

[FR Class of 1998]

I agree. This is so bad, to comment in detail would just feel like beating up a child. There’s no sport in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent, it would be like hunting in an animal shelter.

[AU72]

This article will establish Mr. Lerner’s bonafides when he looks for employment with the MSM.

[frossca]

...reflects pretty poorly on the school's treatment of blacks

This article reflects poorly on UMass' courses in logic.

[ODDITHER]

They can blame the Republicans, They can blame the schools, they can blame the white society but until they all take a look at the real racists and how they have used victimization and hate to ensure that blacks are kept under their thumbs only to be used as a voting block, the Democrats will continue ruin black people’s lives. They have decided to make victims of hispanics now since they are a bigger voting block.

This has caused problems in the party because these two groups are not willing to share victim status equally. And so it goes. Hopefully this will be the undoing of the Democratic party.

In order to believe the party line you must believe that blacks are more victimized than hispanics but hispanics are more victimized than other minorites and the White people are to blame.

You must believe the blacks and hispanics can’t make it on their own and need governmental intervention in order to live their liveS.

[robertpaulsen]

"They only need to look at the family income, thus excluding anyone who can't pay, or their criminal history, thus excluding anyone who was the victim of a wanton police state's draconian policies."

So UMass excludes thugs who can't pay. Oh, the humanity!