So what do you think of this?

[thehstrybean]

So today I was sittin in the University Center between my math and archaeology classes. As I was waiting, I picked a table. They all had papers on them, so I figured it was flyer. I sat down, popped open the laptop to check my email, and read the paper. It was a thing telling about National Take Affirmative Action Day (It's tomorrow, btw). It ran down the list of numbers, telling that UTC (Tennessee Chattanooga) has something like 18 black male teachers and an even smaller number of hispanic/other teachers. Then it said that there are a ton (I'm not gonna state a number I can't remember) of white male teachers.

Now, just a run down. I live in Chattanooga, TN. It's the south, and there are a lot of kids at UTC (it's a big college, the city has 250,000 - 499,999). According to collegeboard.com, here are the numbers:
* <1% American Indian/Alaskan Native
* 2% Asian/Pacific Islander
* 22% Black/Non-Hispanic
* 2% Hispanic
* 74% White/Non-Hispanic
* <1% Non-Resident Alien
* <1% Race/ethnicity unreported

Granted, that's not equal, but I can't help that. Now here's my question: does stuff like "National Take Affirmative Action Day" add to tense race relations? I don't think UTC has a problem. Races talk and laugh all the time. They eat together and dorm together. But to me, crap like this just brings something that isn't really a problem to the forefront. What does ATOT think. NO FLAMING!

 

[txrandom]

Affirmative Action ftl.

 

[FoBoT]

so, do they want to give people jobs based on race? or based on qualifications?

 

[thehstrybean]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
so, do they want to give people jobs based on race? or based on qualifications?

They say qualification, but when you read it, you can really catch this underlying tone of "because their not white".

I'll see if I can find a copy and scan it tomorrow....

 

[5150Joker]

The concept of race is ridiculous to begin with. Humans are humans, I don't understand why people are narrow-minded enough to care about color? To answer your question, the ratio of minorities to whites is probably skewed in TN compared to states like California so the numbers seem proportional to TN's "racial" makeup. You won't find a 74% white majority at a lot of California universities since it's a much more diverse state. That said though, I think there still needs to be affirmative action to encourage minorities to pursue a higher education but it should also be broadened to include people that have grown up in poverty whose parents lack a college education and/or live near the poverty level.

 

[thehstrybean]

Originally posted by: 5150Joker
The concept of race is ridiculous to begin with. Humans are humans, I don't understand why people are narrow-minded enough to care about color? To answer your question, the ratio of minorities to whites is probably skewed in TN compared to states like California so the numbers seem proportional to TN's "racial" makeup. You won't find a 74% white majority at a lot of California universities since it's a much more diverse state. That said though, I think there still needs to be affirmative action to encourage minorities to pursue a higher education but it should also be broadened to include people that have grown up in poverty whose parents lack a college education and/or live near the poverty level.

I agree with your beginning. Race is a social construct that people try to apply biological truths to. The thing that I disagree with is the notion of race in jobs. We try to say that people are equal (they are) and everyone should be given equal treatment, but affer. action seems to fly in the face of that, bring race in as a factor. Just my opinion.

 

[Injury]

Of course it adds tension!

What if the flyer mentioned:

-What percentage of people of each race/gender are turned down for the jobs.
-What the pecentages are that applied for the jobs
-What the average education level of each race/gender is
-What the average years of experience are
-and so many more stats that can be thrown in that would support the decision to have the most qualified people as teachers and to show that the applied to hire ratio is probably much higher for the lower percentage ratios simply because there are probably a mass of white applicants based on the fact that the majority of the city is white.



Although I'm certain that females are starting to overtake males in the ratio of people in college, I think it's safe to say that the majority of college students are white. It's not a crack on race, it's based on the fact that white people make up a bigger percentage of our country than any other race. So that being said, why is it such an insult if the ratio of white teachers to white students is similar? It's not racisim, it's obvious statistics!

We live in a different world than we did 30 years ago. AffAct is outdated and only fuel to a smoldering fire. A person that wants to go to college has only themselves to blame if they can't find a way because there are all too many ways to get the funding to go. Even if it's just a community college, there's always a way.

 

[Lonyo]

Affirmative action - sucks
Black History Month - sucks

All things that single out a specific race and isolate them from others - sucks

If we want integration and harmony, can we really get it by singling out specific groups and looking at them as though they ARE different and should be treated differently?

 

[thesurge]

true, asians shouldnt be discriminated!

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
Affirmative action - sucks
Black History Month - sucks

All things that single out a specific race and isolate them from others - sucks

If we want integration and harmony, can we really get it by singling out specific groups and looking at them as though they ARE different and should be treated differently?

Here we go with the Black History Month/BET/Etc. arguments.

Even as a white person I can say that there's a lot of value in black history month. You'd be surprsied how little the average person knows about the civil rights movements. It isn't black history month to celebrate black people, it's black history month to remind us of what a strong nation we are when we aren't dividing ourselves in bullshit race issues and to remind us that we should love a person no matter what the color of their skin is.

 

[thesurge]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
Affirmative action - sucks
Black History Month - sucks

All things that single out a specific race and isolate them from others - sucks

If we want integration and harmony, can we really get it by singling out specific groups and looking at them as though they ARE different and should be treated differently?

so no race, religion, group should have a period of time commemorating past events since it segregates them?

 

[RapidSnail]

Originally posted by: thesurge

Originally posted by: Lonyo
Affirmative action - sucks
Black History Month - sucks

All things that single out a specific race and isolate them from others - sucks

If we want integration and harmony, can we really get it by singling out specific groups and looking at them as though they ARE different and should be treated differently?

so no race, religion, group should have a period of time commemorating past events since it segregates them?

Yes they should, but I don't think a whole month is necessary.

 

[everman]

Affirmative action is terrible and misguided. Just look at schools like UCLA: a huge white and asian population, yet asians are a minority group. Why are there so many there? Because they worked for it! Any program that gives people something they don't deserve is bad enough, but affirmative action is also taking something away from people who deserve it based on merit.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Originally posted by: thesurge

Originally posted by: Lonyo
Affirmative action - sucks
Black History Month - sucks

All things that single out a specific race and isolate them from others - sucks

If we want integration and harmony, can we really get it by singling out specific groups and looking at them as though they ARE different and should be treated differently?

so no race, religion, group should have a period of time commemorating past events since it segregates them?

Maybe they all should. What month do we want to choose for white history month? Do we have enough months?

 

[thehstrybean]

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee

Originally posted by: thesurge

Originally posted by: Lonyo
Affirmative action - sucks
Black History Month - sucks

All things that single out a specific race and isolate them from others - sucks

If we want integration and harmony, can we really get it by singling out specific groups and looking at them as though they ARE different and should be treated differently?

so no race, religion, group should have a period of time commemorating past events since it segregates them?

Maybe they all should. What month do we want to choose for white history month? Do we have enough months?

Scottish American Month calls March...