Highest academic standards or greater racial diversity?

[Reel]

I was reading an article in my local paper today that mentioned that Florida's universities had a declining percentage of minority enrollment this fall. This could be caused by a number of factors but one of the more prominent quotes stated that this is because there are not enough reserved spaces for minorities in the admissions class.

To me, this implies that the minorities in question are not able to compete academically with the rest of the student body at the university. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be a matter of choosing between two equally strong candidates rather selecting a less qualified candidate by sheer virtue of the color of their skin or the nation in which they were born. Of course there may be some minority students are just as qualified or more qualified than other applicants. There may be some minority groups that outperform the average. However, I don't think it is possible on the whole to make concessions by minority and to maintain the highest possible academic standards at the same time.

 

[waggy]

ohhh boy.

do a search for AA. heh this has been posted eleventy billion times!

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: Reel I don't think it is possible on the whole to make concessions by minority and to maintain the highest possible academic standards at the same time.

You are correct.

The only true test of this is for a university to admit students solely based on their qualifications, then look at what ethnic groups are accepted the most.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

i go to temple and i really appreciate the diversity

 

[Mucho]

This should be interesting, will check back tonight

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Reel I don't think it is possible on the whole to make concessions by minority and to maintain the highest possible academic standards at the same time.

You are correct.

The only true test of this is for a university to admit students solely based on their qualifications, then look at what ethnic groups are accepted the most.

 

[EyeMWing]

I almost broke out laughing when they were reading us the diversity riot act at freshman orientation. The only time I'd seen a whiter group was at my high school. And then they said something interesting. "Our campus is 50% minority students" - APPARENTLY HAVING BOOBS AND A VAGINA QUALIFIES YOU AS A MINORITY.

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Reel I don't think it is possible on the whole to make concessions by minority and to maintain the highest possible academic standards at the same time.

You are correct.

The only true test of this is for a university to admit students solely based on their qualifications, then look at what ethnic groups are accepted the most.

True enough, but although we don't like to talk about it, I'm sure there are still some schools in the US that don't fairly admit minorities, even if they are qualified. In those cases, we could both increase racial diversity and academic standards. Presenting those two things as two opposite choices doesn't always make sense.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
I almost broke out laughing when they were reading us the diversity riot act at freshman orientation. The only time I'd seen a whiter group was at my high school. And then they said something interesting. "Our campus is 50% minority students" - APPARENTLY HAVING BOOBS AND A VAGINA QUALIFIES YOU AS A MINORITY.

sad isn't it

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
I almost broke out laughing when they were reading us the diversity riot act at freshman orientation. The only time I'd seen a whiter group was at my high school. And then they said something interesting. "Our campus is 50% minority students" - APPARENTLY HAVING BOOBS AND A VAGINA QUALIFIES YOU AS A MINORITY.

You know what's really funny about that? I remember seeing somewhere that we are now at the point where more women get bachelors degrees than men. Do we need some male diversity now?

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: Rainsford

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
I almost broke out laughing when they were reading us the diversity riot act at freshman orientation. The only time I'd seen a whiter group was at my high school. And then they said something interesting. "Our campus is 50% minority students" - APPARENTLY HAVING BOOBS AND A VAGINA QUALIFIES YOU AS A MINORITY.

You know what's really funny about that? I remember seeing somewhere that we are now at the point where more women get bachelors degrees than men. Do we need some male diversity now?

Hey, I'm certainly not complaining. There are at least two hot chicks in IST. And as the de-facto alpha male, I've got dibs.

 

[George P Burdell]

Highest academic standards or greater racial diversity? Which do you prefer in your university?

BOTH.

 

[Anubis]

poll?

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: George P Burdell

Highest academic standards or greater racial diversity? Which do you prefer in your university?

BOTH.

Choose one. They're mutually exclusive because every student does not apply to every university, so they can't have the top pickin's from the minority pile because, by definition, they're a minority and there's a higher number of white males that applied, and since grades are, supposedly, normally distributed, more of them have better grades.

 

[Whisper]

I'd say minority is of great importance on a college campus and in a classroom. I don't have a problem with reassessing academic standards in order to increase diversity at a university.

 

[FeuerFrei]

haha
who cares if a college is racially diverse
picking an applicant because of their race is unfair to those more qualified applicants who can't help their race and also can't help the fact that they are a majority racially
No reason to insist on diversity. Why do people consider diversity a goal?? If people of a certain race don't choose to attend your college, that's their perogative. Deal with it.

 

[compnovice]

Do colleges place all of them in the category of minorities: Women, Gays, Native Americans, African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians?

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: Whisper
I'd say minority is of great importance on a college campus and in a classroom. I don't have a problem with reassessing academic standards in order to increase diversity at a university.

So you'd rather have a less prestigious degree for the same amount of money and effort than hang out with fewer blacks, asians, indians, iranians hispanics and russians?

I don't care who the other people are - I'm paying to be there for *ME*. I want the best education I can get for my money, and I don't give a sh!t if Shanaynay and Ackmed are there or not.

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: Whisper
I'd say minority is of great importance on a college campus and in a classroom. I don't have a problem with reassessing academic standards in order to increase diversity at a university.

And it is exactly this type of sentiment that is destroying this country in both acedemia and business. You should pick the best and most qualified candidate regardless of race. If that means less minorities then so be it, if it means more then so be it. Lowering standards to force an artificial diversity is counterproductive. If diversification does not take place naturally and unmanaged it simply breeds inefficiency, resentment, and racial prejudice. Over time diversity should take place naturally if minorities truly want to put forth the effort to succeed. Simply handing them positions for "touchie feelie" reasons is actually a disservice to them.

 

[ironcrotch]

After finally finishing college, I think the most important aspect is the experience and the path to growing up. Networking, finding a job will all fall into place.

 

[jchu14]

I would be willing to sacrifice some academic standards to achieve greater racial diversity.

IMO one of the most important aspect of an university education comes from working with others outside of a classroom. In order to become a better person (not just acdemically), it is imperative that one learn how to interact, work with, and just be exposed to people of all racial backgrounds.

Most people are not raised with racial prejudice and no one inherently wants to be a racist. However in many instances, they're just not exposed to people of other colors and cultures while growing up. Because of that ignorance, some grow up to associate certain races with stereotypes they see on tv, movies, and news because that's all they know.

Being in an university gives people a chance to interact with people unlike themselves on a day to day basis. People come together based on common interest instead of geographical location of their home which is often a reflection of socio-economic and cultural segregation.

just imo.

 

[corpseofworms]

Originally posted by: FeuerFrei
haha
who cares if a college is racially diverse
picking an applicant because of their race is unfair to those more qualified applicants who can't help their race and also can't help the fact that they are a majority racially
No reason to insist on diversity. Why do people consider diversity a goal?? If people of a certain race don't choose to attend your college, that's their perogative. Deal with it.

Well thought out, poorly posted.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

Originally posted by: EyeMWing

Originally posted by: Whisper
I'd say minority is of great importance on a college campus and in a classroom. I don't have a problem with reassessing academic standards in order to increase diversity at a university.

So you'd rather have a less prestigious degree for the same amount of money and effort than hang out with fewer blacks, asians, indians, iranians hispanics and russians?

I don't care who the other people are - I'm paying to be there for *ME*. I want the best education I can get for my money, and I don't give a sh!t if Shanaynay and Ackmed are there or not.

your response proves that you need diversity...cause you've never been in that kind of situation you dont realize that there is more to learn from each other than to go to a 'prestigous' university where you can mingle with a homogenous crowd with views that are exactly the same as yours.

 

[Reel]

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad

Originally posted by: EyeMWing

Originally posted by: Whisper
I'd say minority is of great importance on a college campus and in a classroom. I don't have a problem with reassessing academic standards in order to increase diversity at a university.

So you'd rather have a less prestigious degree for the same amount of money and effort than hang out with fewer blacks, asians, indians, iranians hispanics and russians?

I don't care who the other people are - I'm paying to be there for *ME*. I want the best education I can get for my money, and I don't give a sh!t if Shanaynay and Ackmed are there or not.

your response proves that you need diversity...cause you've never been in that kind of situation you dont realize that there is more to learn from each other than to go to a 'prestigous' university where you can mingle with a homogenous crowd with views that are exactly the same as yours.

As much as I hate to agree with EyeMWing, I don't think that his response is indicative of him needing more diversity. I feel a similar way. I went to college to learn. I didn't go to have some spiritual quest or find myself or whatever the other nonsense that people spout. I went in preparation for a career that I would enjoy. I want to have the best students by my side as possible. I don't care if they are minority or not as long as they are sharing a good learning experience rather than hindering it.

 

[eLiu]

Highest academic standards.

America's education system is full of BS. Higher education IS NOT MANDATORY NOR NECESSARY. If you're smart/capable enough then by all means, you should/will attend university somewhere, ideally determined by your academic ability. Not everyone needs to attend college. Hell a bunch of the 'low end' college degrees aren't even worth a sh!t...they just make fools think that they're somehow special because they acquired a piece of paper...big deal!

Short-cutting minorities makes everything worse in the long run. It hurts the academic environment by allowing people who *do not* meet standards to attend university. I don't care if there are no people of _______ race at my school...I only want to see them there if they are on par with everyone else.

America's university system is what keeps us on top of the rest of the world. By being so whiny about diversity and all that crap, we are destroying it. High-tech research is our future; those are the kinds of jobs that are staying in the US because China & India are not currently equipped to handle them.

If we lose research to Asia, then we're really fvcked.

And while we're on this topic...I think the best of the best should be awarded scholarships, regardless of monetary need. If you're super smart/awesome, you should be rewarded! If you're good enough & can't afford it, then you ought to be helped too...but nothing should supercede (sp) pure intellectual strength.

But in BOTH cases, those receiving $ should be held to the highest academic standard--slack off and the money should immediately disappear. I HATE seeing people on financial aid fvck around and get C's when there are plenty of other people struggling to pay the private tuition while actually working hard/making use of the opportunities provided. (This is not to say that all people on financial aid are idiots; many are extremely hard-working.)