It is 1998 and discrimination and racism are still alive and well. Through the dismantling of affirmative action – and in some cases its existence – minorities once again get the shaft.According to the Washington Post, a week ago the University of California’s two premier campuses reported that their first undergraduate classes chosen without affirmative action will have an extraordinarily low number of black and Hispanic students.At the university’s Berkeley campus, of the 8,000 students who were offered admission, 191 were black, down from 562 last year. A total of 434 Hispanic students were offered admission, down from 1,045 last year.At UCLA, the number of black students offered admission has fallen by 43 percent, and by 33 percent for Hispanics. The Post also reported that the numbers are down although both campuses got more minority applications, with stronger academic credentials, than in previous years.But what to make of the data? Hmmm.University of California president Richard Atkinson said the figures are “a source of great concern for the university, as they should be for all of California.”In addition to the University of California’s woes, OSU archrival University of Michigan is experiencing similar issues.Jennifer Gratz applied to Michigan two years ago hoping that her record as an honors student, high school leader, and community volunteer would be all she needed to be admitted to the prestigious campus, reported the Washington Post.She was turned down. The Post wrote, “She is accusing the university of rejecting her in order to make room for minority students with the same or lesser grades.” So Gratz did what any post-modern American does when s/he is wronged…she filed a lawsuit.Consequently, university officials told the Post that since the number of students seeking admission to Michigan is so overwhelming, they have no choice but to turn away many talented applicants for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with race.Frequently, blacks are labeled as a crying “race,” to seemingly make up for their own shortcomings. But now it seems the proverbial shoe is on the other foot; but racial and gender minorities don’t even own exclusive rights to affirmative action anymore.I was distraught to read this Seattle Times headline: “Nearly half of all affirmative action hires are white.” The Times reported that “Last year under an affirmative action program criticized as the ultimate example of preferential treatment, the Washington state government hired more white men than African Americans or any other minority group.”White men? Yes, that’s: 48 white men, 45 white women, 40 African Americans, 36 Asian Americans, 29 Latinos and 16 Native Americans. Under the guise of including Vietnam-era veterans, disabled veterans and people with disabilities the “Plus Three” program really began to close my ears to AA opponents. In California and Texas, AA programs are gone. And the results have been a plummet in minority enrollment. By supporting the destruction of programs such as AA, some still feel as though white males ‹ claiming a smaller percentage of the population than women ‹ should have the highest percentage of the access to education, capital and power in the U.S. Yeah, that’s equality baby.We talk about race/gender based preferences, but ignore preferential treatment given to whites by whites in the name of legacy. ‘Don’t worry about grades son. Because your dad here went to Yale, you are accepted too.’Don’t get me wrong, some of my best friends are white men, but don’t dare deny that white males receive preferential treatment everyday based on the following criteria: skin color and race.By eliminating programs which encourage minority participation in education and white-collar job potential, a blatant act of racism is committed.”We’ve had affirmative action for about 30 years, and African Americans have lived in this country oppressed for 400 years,” said Delbert Sanders, a political science major at Michigan. “Walk through the campus today ‹ you don’t see too many African Americans. And yet I ask you, are you saying that even this is too many?”
Michael A. Norman wishes the Lantern would stop running pictures front page with no story. He may be reached at [email protected] for comments or ideas.
