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The Los Angeles Times is running an article describing the challenges faced by Asian Americans as they apply for acceptance to top colleges.
The article describes the impact that their race and ethnicity has on their SAT scores:
Lee's next slide shows three columns of numbers from a Princeton University study that tried to measure how race and ethnicity affect admissions by using SAT scores as a benchmark. It uses the term “bonus” to describe how many extra SAT points an applicant's race is worth.
She points to the first column. African Americans received a “bonus” of 230 points, Lee says.
She points to the second column. “Hispanics received a bonus of 185 points.”
The last column draws gasps. Asian Americans, Lee says, are penalized by 50 points — in other words, they had to do that much better to win admission.
“Do Asians need higher test scores? Is it harder for Asians to get into college? The answer is yes,” Lee says.
A core tenet of the American philosophy, even from before the days of the Founding Fathers, is that through hard work and excellence one should be able to obtain success in life. But is this ideal even possible when certain underachieving groups are given artificial advantages, while those with the most merit are artificially held back?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 02 2015, @10:06AM
Not sincere? That hurts more than all the troll mods! Racism is wrong, absolutely wrong. The Fine Article here is racist, and will give opportunity to all our resident racists to say they are not racists, because, you know, numbers and stuff. I think it is best to nip this kind of soft racism in the bud, to call it out, and most importantly, to ridicule it. Sorry that you do not seem my sincerity or approve of my methods. OP AC O/O.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 02 2015, @10:11AM
Identify the so-called "racism" in the LA Times article.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 02 2015, @10:29AM
Identify the so-called "racism" in the LA Times article.
This is rather tiresome, but since there seems to be such a need for people to realize that they actually are being racist, even though they are not aware of it, here goes.
SAT scores are a rather arbitrary measure of a students potential. Admission offices know this. And the scores are culturally and otherwise biased. And besides, no one has the right to demand that they be admitted to a particular college, that means just that they are a dick. Colleges have interests in having a student body that is appropriate for educational purposes, which means the definitely do not want the "best of the best", a la Men in Black. So for one ethnic group to suggest that they are being discriminated against on the basis of marginal differences in a marginally significant factor in admissions sounds suspicious. And good thing it is not caucasians! Do you now that more African Americans are in jail, as a percentage of their population, than whites in America? Do you know what that means? Just facts. Funny such a respectable paper as the LA Times would run such a racist piece.
(OH crap, I just realized that if I leave the incarceration number like that, the racist morons will still not get it. OK, short lesson in institutional racism. Black people do not commit more crimes because they are black. They might be arrested and prosecuted more because they are black. People who commit crimes are usually poor. So if you look at the rates based on income and wealth, it has nothing to do with race. Get it? Not more violent. Not a culture of something or another. Not any less intelligent, to address our point here. So how do colleges and universities deal with that?)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 02 2015, @10:47AM
Admit a number of other races to confirm the one in majority they are superior: how better to reinforce this than admitting a bunch of moron from other races.
Of course, it wouldn't help if more Asians get in, they'd crush the supreme race moral and accelerate their xenophobia against the mighty China... not yet the appropriate time to do it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 02 2015, @11:46AM
They are a factor among other factors, not arbitrary.
Opinion. If this was true, the test could be fixed. Or are arbitrary bonuses and penalties the way to soften the "cultural bias"?
Really? I guess black students that originally challenged segregation weren't making demands to be let in past racist admissions systems.
Many colleges have an interest in profit. A huge student body with a high dropout rate is profitable. Students that got in with much lower SAT scores will have a higher dropout rate. Whoops! I forgot that "SAT scores are a rather arbitrary measure of a students potential'!
A 280 pt difference (between a black and asian student) is hardly marginal. What is true is that the asian students have higher SAT scores, and have to compete among themselves rather than the general population.
We wouldn't want whites to complain about racism. Racism against whites doesn't exist!
Just off-topic facts.
Here's the reporter's contact page [latimes.com] and email [mailto]. I'm sure he'll want to correct the article using your suggestions.
The study [princeton.edu] cited in the LA Times article has a solution you would support:
If you believe that blacks are being incarcerated unjustly, perhaps lowering those rates would result in an eventual, immediate, and fair increase in admissions?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 02 2015, @06:45PM
Many colleges have an interest in profit. A huge student body with a high dropout rate is profitable. Students that got in with much lower SAT scores will have a higher dropout rate.
"I am not a racist because University of Phoenix!" Good one!