There have been lots of current events complaints recently about Affirmative Action. They are saying that Affirmative Action policies have had the unintended, undesirable effect of allowing in a lot of people that are simply not qualified to do the job.
To me, what Affirmative Action means is "Don’t be racist, don’t be sexist." Companies and colleges should not exclude people that are qualified simply because they are women or minorities. It does not mean, however, that companies or colleges should INclude people that are UNqualified simply because they are women and minorities. It does not mean that people should be offered any special treatment.
Affirmative Action should not be an excuse to throw about “reverse racism.” That is another phrase that is cropping up a lot lately in the editorials and opinion articles. “Reverse racism” does not exist. Racism is racism; it does not matter if the target of racism is black, white, Asian, Hispanic, etc.
I find charges of "reverse racism" to be frankly laughable and tedious. How about we get rid of the original racism first? Then we shall worry about so-called "reverse racism." __ It is very possible there is a shy wallflower that just needed a nudge in the right direction to truly uncover her heretofore unknown powder keg of natural intelligence. It's__
There was an article in the November 1998 issue of Glamour magazine that reported on a white girl who asserts she was discriminated against in her college admissions process. Glamour mag's apparent IQ has plummeted in very recent years, but they managed to redeem themselves a teeny bit with this particular feature.
That is an explosive topic, very timely and important. The girl was mad because a different student, a Hispanic girl, was apparently chosen in place of her white self. I thought the white girl might have a point, but then I read the article.
Here's the thing. The white girl is kind of a middle-of-the-road average student. She is majoring in some generic liberal arts degree. Her grade point average is 3.0 -- adequate but nothing to write home about. Her parents pay all of her living expenses, tuition, etc. She is by no means a deprived poverty-stricken student who is really a great kid with a stellar behavior record and needs this to be her one ticket out of the ghetto. It's not like the white girl is some sort of hidden undiscovered genius who just needed the right opportunity to blossom and flourish. It's not as if she were a child prodigy on the brink of discovering a cure for cancer.
-So truly, how exactly was she harmed by not being admitted to the college of her choice? Academic performance such as that will not be terribly affected for the worse if she ends up in community college or a second-choice school.
The way it should be interpreted is that Affirmative Action is essentially the same as equal opportunity. This means that qualified candidates should be considered from all cultural backgrounds. Emphasis on the word “qualified.” Let’s say an applicant has applied for a job position. If a personnel manager is considering this applicant for an interview and the hiring process, they must verify that the potential employee has the necessary skill sets to do the job. You better demonstrate that you can do the job. You better prove it; otherwise you are out.
The same policy should be established for college admissions requirements. The student must demonstrate that they have the necessary background education, and that they will excel in their college courses. The college or university should not relax the standards simply to allow in women and minorities. Do you realize what that would hypothetically, actually mean if they did relax the admissions standards? Or parallel, if they relaxed the job standards? It means that they would not truly expect much from the potential candidate. “Ohhh, we should give them a break because they are mere weak, unintelligent females and minorities.”
Where exactly is this magical wonderland that exists where people can be ushered in without being able to do the full job in all its descriptions? As an Asian woman, I certainly did not have privileged access to any of them.
I was not given any special treatment. I scored 1460 on my SATs. I enrolled and successfully completed numerous Advanced Placement courses as well as Honors courses all throughout my high school education. I enrolled in a laboratory science each of the four years, as well as an advanced mathematics course each of the four years. I had taken an SAT preparatory course.
So in other words, I earned my rightful spot in my college enrollments. And hopefully, God-willing, I will earn my spot in job placement for my career.
When I say Affirmative Action, what I mean is that I deserve a fair chance to prove that I am excellently qualified for a job. I am prepared, I studied well, I aced my exams. And I learned all of the skill sets that are necessary to perform the job very well.
Affirmative Action means that I have a fair chance to get my foot in the door. It means that a personnel manager could not just disregard me as a potential employee with a flippant wave of the hand. It means they would not just casually toss my resume in the garbage bin.
Without Affirmative Action, I would not be given a fair chance to prove that I am worthy of recognition. I am a racial minority, and I am a woman. I am proud of my cultural background, and I am proud to be a woman, no doubt. However, personnel managers and college admissions faculty might not be aware of that. They might just dismiss my application and simply think, "oh well, she’s a minority and woman, so we are not going to bother to offer her admission to the college."
But with Affirmative Action, I can be given a fair chance to prove that I can excel in the coursework at college.
To me, what Affirmative Action means is "Don’t be racist, don’t be sexist." Companies and colleges should not exclude people that are qualified simply because they are women or minorities. It does not mean, however, that companies or colleges should INclude people that are UNqualified simply because they are women and minorities. It does not mean that people should be offered any special treatment.
Affirmative Action should not be an excuse to throw about “reverse racism.” That is another phrase that is cropping up a lot lately in the editorials and opinion articles. “Reverse racism” does not exist. Racism is racism; it does not matter if the target of racism is black, white, Asian, Hispanic, etc.
I find charges of "reverse racism" to be frankly laughable and tedious. How about we get rid of the original racism first? Then we shall worry about so-called "reverse racism." __ It is very possible there is a shy wallflower that just needed a nudge in the right direction to truly uncover her heretofore unknown powder keg of natural intelligence. It's__
There was an article in the November 1998 issue of Glamour magazine that reported on a white girl who asserts she was discriminated against in her college admissions process. Glamour mag's apparent IQ has plummeted in very recent years, but they managed to redeem themselves a teeny bit with this particular feature.
That is an explosive topic, very timely and important. The girl was mad because a different student, a Hispanic girl, was apparently chosen in place of her white self. I thought the white girl might have a point, but then I read the article.
Here's the thing. The white girl is kind of a middle-of-the-road average student. She is majoring in some generic liberal arts degree. Her grade point average is 3.0 -- adequate but nothing to write home about. Her parents pay all of her living expenses, tuition, etc. She is by no means a deprived poverty-stricken student who is really a great kid with a stellar behavior record and needs this to be her one ticket out of the ghetto. It's not like the white girl is some sort of hidden undiscovered genius who just needed the right opportunity to blossom and flourish. It's not as if she were a child prodigy on the brink of discovering a cure for cancer.
-So truly, how exactly was she harmed by not being admitted to the college of her choice? Academic performance such as that will not be terribly affected for the worse if she ends up in community college or a second-choice school.
The way it should be interpreted is that Affirmative Action is essentially the same as equal opportunity. This means that qualified candidates should be considered from all cultural backgrounds. Emphasis on the word “qualified.” Let’s say an applicant has applied for a job position. If a personnel manager is considering this applicant for an interview and the hiring process, they must verify that the potential employee has the necessary skill sets to do the job. You better demonstrate that you can do the job. You better prove it; otherwise you are out.
The same policy should be established for college admissions requirements. The student must demonstrate that they have the necessary background education, and that they will excel in their college courses. The college or university should not relax the standards simply to allow in women and minorities. Do you realize what that would hypothetically, actually mean if they did relax the admissions standards? Or parallel, if they relaxed the job standards? It means that they would not truly expect much from the potential candidate. “Ohhh, we should give them a break because they are mere weak, unintelligent females and minorities.”
Where exactly is this magical wonderland that exists where people can be ushered in without being able to do the full job in all its descriptions? As an Asian woman, I certainly did not have privileged access to any of them.
I was not given any special treatment. I scored 1460 on my SATs. I enrolled and successfully completed numerous Advanced Placement courses as well as Honors courses all throughout my high school education. I enrolled in a laboratory science each of the four years, as well as an advanced mathematics course each of the four years. I had taken an SAT preparatory course.
So in other words, I earned my rightful spot in my college enrollments. And hopefully, God-willing, I will earn my spot in job placement for my career.
When I say Affirmative Action, what I mean is that I deserve a fair chance to prove that I am excellently qualified for a job. I am prepared, I studied well, I aced my exams. And I learned all of the skill sets that are necessary to perform the job very well.
Affirmative Action means that I have a fair chance to get my foot in the door. It means that a personnel manager could not just disregard me as a potential employee with a flippant wave of the hand. It means they would not just casually toss my resume in the garbage bin.
Without Affirmative Action, I would not be given a fair chance to prove that I am worthy of recognition. I am a racial minority, and I am a woman. I am proud of my cultural background, and I am proud to be a woman, no doubt. However, personnel managers and college admissions faculty might not be aware of that. They might just dismiss my application and simply think, "oh well, she’s a minority and woman, so we are not going to bother to offer her admission to the college."
But with Affirmative Action, I can be given a fair chance to prove that I can excel in the coursework at college.
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