11–20 of 20 posts
I don't see how getting into college because of social connections is a problem. People seem to think the smartest people academically should succeed but it is those people who utilize social connections best that succeed. Hence the pointy hair boss.
Nepotism and corruption may be rampant, but that doesn't mean it's the way things ought to be.
Whatever. Here are some numbers: http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/002566.html?entry=2566 Let's drop the conspiracy theories about the evil "white" man. Anyway. Rest assurred that all inefficiency has to be paid for. When a valuable resource is given to one group that doesn't deserve it (blacks/hispanics/whatever through affirmative action) it has to be paid for by another undeserving group, rich idiots, who reasonabl…
The justification for it is that minorities are still reeling from the effects of previous discriminatory policies, and AA used as a balancing force. Personally, I think if that's the issue, then we should use income based measures, not racially based ones.
Also, as someone else already pointed out, many racial groups are artificial. For example, there is a huge difference between a Filipino American and an international Chinese student, yet both are "Asian". There is also a huge difference between most Chinese Americans and Vietnamese Americans, who are mostly refugees from the Viet War. How can you classify all these diverse people with diverse backgrounds into one category? How does it help anything?
So yea, I agree some valuable resources are given to out undeservedly so, but only because we're using the wrong categories to measure who has been disadvantaged. I still agree with the spirit of AA, but not in its current form.
Whatever. Here are some numbers: http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/002566.html?entry=2566 Let's drop the conspiracy theories about the evil "white" man. Anyway. Rest assurred that all inefficiency has to be paid for. When a valuable resource is given to one group that doesn't deserve it (blacks/hispanics/whatever through affirmative action) it has to be paid for by another undeserving group, rich idiots, who reasonabl…
AA was actually instituted to counter discrimination against Jews. Later, it was expanded to include other minorities who had been systematically disadvantaged (by those in power). The justification for it is that minorities are still reeling from the effects of previous discriminatory policies, and AA used as a balancing force. Personally, I think if that's the issue, then we should use income based measures, not ra…
Well, the Jews were systematically discriminated against in college admissions with quotas, but I don't think affirmative action was a result of this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_quota
Earlier quoted context omitted.
AA was actually instituted to counter discrimination against Jews. Later, it was expanded to include other minorities who had been systematically disadvantaged (by those in power). The justification for it is that minorities are still reeling from the effects of previous discriminatory policies, and AA used as a balancing force. Personally, I think if that's the issue, then we should use income based measures, not ra…
>AA was actually instituted to counter discrimination against Jews. Well, the Jews were systematically discriminated against in college admissions with quotas, but I don't think affirmative action was a result of this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_quota
These elite colleges are non-profit institutions, not government-funded. I'm not surprised they occasionally want to "waste their academic offerings" on billionaire's children with middling resumes. The situation is much better than in years past, but you'll never escape it. Quite simply, Harvard didn't come by that $35 billion endowment on the basis of SAT scores alone. Everyone else in that stratus has to compete w…
And I don't think anyone would naively argue against all nepotism. But would you have guessed that twice as many non-qualified students get in based on their family than on their race? The popular debate has made the latter seem much more prevalent, as if minorities were solely responsible for squeezing out qualified whites.
These elite colleges are non-profit institutions, not government-funded. I'm not surprised they occasionally want to "waste their academic offerings" on billionaire's children with middling resumes. The situation is much better than in years past, but you'll never escape it. Quite simply, Harvard didn't come by that $35 billion endowment on the basis of SAT scores alone. Everyone else in that stratus has to compete w…
Actually a good chunk of their operating budgets comes from government grants. And a requirement of tenure is ability to the get said grants. That's the cudgel the government holds - follow our regulations or get government funds cut (see stem cell research). Meanwhile, don't you think it's a tad weird that you could be considered non-profit and carry a $35 billion "endowment"? Or earn a few million in salary (as som…
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/magazine/30wwln-lede-t.htm...
This topic is another reason I love working in tech, institutional education matters little.
I don't think you can equate admission to an elite college with social mobility. The two are probably not directly related.
These elite colleges are non-profit institutions, not government-funded. I'm not surprised they occasionally want to "waste their academic offerings" on billionaire's children with middling resumes. The situation is much better than in years past, but you'll never escape it. Quite simply, Harvard didn't come by that $35 billion endowment on the basis of SAT scores alone. Everyone else in that stratus has to compete w…