Howard University opens a new campus at the Googleplex
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Re: Howard University opens a new campus at the Googleplex
#2Good. I hope they're looking into a pipeline that reaches these students before they're junior- or senior-aged as well.
Re: Howard University opens a new campus at the Googleplex
#3One thing I struggle with is measurement of progress. For example, what Google is allowing here with Howard U is obviously good for the AA community. However, is Google in general doing things that are good or bad for AAs in general? It's difficult to say.
Excessive advertising can be used to poor people's disadvantage by creating more debt by encouraging more unnecessary expenses. AAs consist of a disproportionally large percentage of poor people and have chronically low wealth levels [1]. One could argue Google is bad for AAs by making advertising more mainstream and accurate.
In any case, at least they're trying, PR or not. Some companies do nothing. I do feel strongly about this because the amount of segregation in Boston is ridiculous.
[1] http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/27/news/economy/racial-wealth-g...
Re: Howard University opens a new campus at the Googleplex
#4This is exciting for a simple reason: it might actually work.
Re: Howard University opens a new campus at the Googleplex
#5One thing I struggle with is measurement of progress. For example, what Google is allowing here with Howard U is obviously good for the AA community. However, is Google in general doing things that are good or bad for AAs in general? It's difficult to say. Excessive advertising can be used to poor people's disadvantage by creating more debt by encouraging more unnecessary expenses. AAs consist of a disproportionally…
When a positive outcome is almost certain, there's less need for fine measurements. For example, how much effort is it worth to determine whether tech job placement for Howard University students goes up by 2x or exactly 2.15x?
Re: Howard University opens a new campus at the Googleplex
#6I'm very happy to see this. I grew up in a town that, before I was born, decided to actively integrate (from being an historically all white, wealthy suburb) and I'm certain I'm better off for growing up in a diverse community. I'm in mountain view now and it's all "silicon valley white", and something actively needs to be done. I worry when I realize my kid can go a week or more without seeing a black person, and I'm disappointed in myself when I realize I have no black friends (when as a kid they were my neighbors).
Re: Howard University opens a new campus at the Googleplex
#7One thing I struggle with is measurement of progress. For example, what Google is allowing here with Howard U is obviously good for the AA community. However, is Google in general doing things that are good or bad for AAs in general? It's difficult to say. Excessive advertising can be used to poor people's disadvantage by creating more debt by encouraging more unnecessary expenses. AAs consist of a disproportionally…
When a positive outcome is almost certain, there's less need for fine measurements. For example, how much effort is it worth to determine whether tech job placement for Howard University students goes up by 2x or exactly 2.15x?
I disagree that a positive outcome is almost certain. What's happening here is effectively Affirmative Action, and that's hardly a positive outcome in everyone's eyes.
For example, Google could just simply give internships to those at HBCU's, an action one may see as definitely positive. However, if for whatever reason those students fail to perform, in the eyes of the non black colleagues, stereotypes of incompetence will be created, if not exacerbated. Black people are punished more harshly for signs of incompetence of similar magnitude than Whites [2].
A somewhat similar thing happened with minority lawyers, as law schools tried to prop up the supply with affirmative action policies [1].
Things are just complicated, in general.
[1] http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/08/29/is-affirmative-action-at...
[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/27/black-students-puni...
Re: Howard University opens a new campus at the Googleplex
#8Nobody's really worried about competent students not being able to perform.
Re: Howard University opens a new campus at the Googleplex
#9One thing I struggle with is measurement of progress. For example, what Google is allowing here with Howard U is obviously good for the AA community. However, is Google in general doing things that are good or bad for AAs in general? It's difficult to say. Excessive advertising can be used to poor people's disadvantage by creating more debt by encouraging more unnecessary expenses. AAs consist of a disproportionally…
When a positive outcome is almost certain, there's less need for fine measurements. For example, how much effort is it worth to determine whether tech job placement for Howard University students goes up by 2x or exactly 2.15x?
>When a positive outcome is almost certain, there's less need for fine measurements.
Gonna have to strongly disagree, here. Declaring that a "positive" outcome is "almost certain" is an invitation for punting on specifically defining what that "positive" outcome is and then hand-waving any measurement of progress. This is especially dangerous when the "positive" outcome comes at non-trivial expense.
Edit: a word
Re: Howard University opens a new campus at the Googleplex
#10Nobody's really worried about competent students not being able to perform.
I'm not really sure what your point is.