Garbanzo Toons

Diversity at All Costs

When Proposal 2 was passed by the voters of Michigan by a margin of 16% (58% to 42%), it was supposed to end racial and other preferences at Michigan's public universities. As stated,

Proposal 2...

• Reflects the colorblind language of the 1964 Civil Rights Act -- because equal treatment is the essence of civil rights.

• Ends discrimination against groups and individuals based on race or sex for state employment, university admissions, and public contracting.

• Bans quotas and set-aside programs giving every person a fair chance to compete for good paying jobs and college admissions.

Proposal 2 DOES NOT...

• Affect public health facilities, including breast cancer screening centers, fair housing programs, or private scholarships.

• Eliminate outreach or true equal opportunity programs.

• Eliminate Title IX or girls' sports.

The fact that Michigan voters voted overwhelmingly in favor of it doesn't matter to the Proposal's opponents. To them, anyone who voted for it is the stereotypical right-wing, racist, sexist, homophobic, idiot who didn't know enough to vote for what was good for them and what mainstream America wants. And they are still trying to find ways around discriminating against anyone who doesn't fit the current "victim" template, especially at the University of Michigan and other public universities. At the hallowed halls of U. of M. diversity is the order of the day, education be damned.

The Detroit Free Press, another opponent of Proposal 2, ran an editorial, thinly disguised as a news article on the tribulations of U. of M.'s and Wayne State University's efforts to discriminate - uh - I mean diversify. They destroyed their own pro-diversity argument however, with this quote:

Deneshea Richey, 17, a student at Cass Tech High in Detroit, is going through the process now and has a list of about 10 schools she is applying to.

U-M was once on her list, but she has decided she won't "waste the application fee." Before, a relatively low grade-point average might have been offset by her work history, the fact that she lives alone and other factors, including the fact she is African American.

Maybe I'm naive, but wouldn't a low high school GPA dim her chances for success at an academically rigorous university like U. of M.? Wouldn't it make more sense for her to go somewhere where standards weren't quite so high so she had a better chance of graduation and a lesser chance of flunking out? The factors that kept her high school GPA low probably wouldn't change for the better at U. of M. and in fact might even change for the worse. She'd be moving away from home into a much more highly competitive environment. She'd have more responsibilities and more distractions. She would be even more on her own than she is now.

Why are so many engaged in an open conspiracy to make education even more difficult for people like Richey? Who are they trying to fool?

Thomas Sowell has written on and condemned affirmative action in many articles and in an entire book. Rather than depend on platitudes and emotion, he offers logic, reason, and the past experience of affirmative action programs. Deneshea Richey and university officials in Michigan should read what Dr. Sowell has to say.

Of course, they won't.

Labels: Affirmative Action, Thomas Sowell, University of Michigan

posted by Harry @ 8:02 PM