Comments on: Affirmative Action for Rich, White Kids?

By: Magic Moments XXX » Blog Archive » Will Quintiles go public?

Magic Moments XXX » Blog Archive » Will Quintiles go public? — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 18:00:22 +0000

[...] RECENT COMMENTSOutside Beltway - many others get into exclusive colleges the same way people get into trendy night clubs, by knowing the management or flashing Especially at public colleges in former Jim Crow states, it will be a while before this changes. (One study of the [...]

By: Kaleberg

Kaleberg — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 00:39:15 +0000

This doesn't address another form of affirmative action for the well off, learning disabilities. A number of well off families arrange for their children to be declared learning disabled. This doesn't just get them extra time on the SAT, but can get them someone to read the reading and math sections to them. I have no problem with the extra time, within some kind of limit, but I'm not sure exactly what the reading section is without reading. Even a blind friend of mine had to read the SAT in braille way back when.

This is not just a crackpot theory. The New York Times reported a while back that most learning disabled children in NYC are not crack babies, but the sons of well off white parents. While unreliable in many areas, the New York Times does follow NYC lifestyle trends quite accurately.

P.S. Ugh: Wellesley is definitely a private institution.

By: Lights illuminate bridge campaign at Magic Moments XXX

Lights illuminate bridge campaign at Magic Moments XXX — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 09:15:21 +0000

[...] Affirmative Action for Rich, White Kids?Outside Beltway - many others get into exclusive colleges the same way people get into trendy night clubs, by knowing the management or flashing Especially at public colleges in former Jim Crow states, it will be a while before this changes. (One study of the [...]

By: Peter Schmidt

Peter Schmidt — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:21:57 +0000

Hi Jim.

Just a few numbers to help clarify:

Carnevale and Rose found that the black enrollment at the 146 colleges studied was 6 percent with race-conscious admissions and would be 1.6 percent without, while the Hispanic enrollment was 6 percent with and would be about 2.4 percent without.

African Americans and Hispanics are about half as represented among legacy applicants as they are among the broader applicant pool. Especially at public colleges in former Jim Crow states, it will be a while before this changes. (One study of the University of Virginia said it will be 2020 before the legacy applicant pool reflects that state's black population numerically.)

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:52:17 +0000

But in the real world, the point is not to get above a "C" grade, but to make friends and connections.

True to a point but one needs to graduate to derive most of the benefits of the network. It's true that actually learning the material is tertiary in most fields.

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:49:33 +0000

It seems naive to suggest that athletes accepted at elite institutions won't "benefit" from their educations. Perhaps you are right if what you mean is that they won't come to some exciting new synthesis of world knowledge and their understanding of their place in the cosmos based on their reading of "Gargantua." But in the real world, the point is not to get above a "C" grade, but to make friends and connections. The poorly performing athletes will go onto leading careers in government and business based on who they know, including alumni who just love sports and athletes. And so it continues, on and on... Just look at Dick Cheney. Just look at George W. Bush.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:39:02 +0000

Ah, but I added "and a whole host of legislation." All manner of laws make it illegal or incredibly impractical for even private schools to discriminate based on race.

The courts have allowed narrow exceptions for discriminating with an eye toward remedying past discrimination or achieving diversity, of course, but the 14th and the supporting legislation provides grounds for heated debate over drawing those lines.

By: Ugh

Ugh — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:06:01 +0000

It’s also true that racial discrimination is specifically prohibited by the 14th Amendment

Uh, well, no. It might (might) outlaw racial discrimination by state and federal gov'ts (and the current SCOTUS is clearly heading that way), it has absolutely nothing to say about admissions policies (or even employment policies) at Harvard, Wellesley,* Notre Dame and Duke (UVA, being a state institution, is another story).

Ancillary to the main point of the post but I couldn't let it go w/o pointing it out.

*I assume Wellesley is private but haven't checked.