Race has always been a topic of great tension. The latest debate is centered over affirmative action. Sometimes it is easier to look at a problem when it is someone else’s (and our own). Wide Angle does just this with a story upon affirmative action in Brazil. This is an especially great issue in a country where over 50% of the population is black by American standards. But are you black enough by Brazilian standards? That is the question college applicants must ask themselves. If you get a chance, watch Brazil in Black and White.
Once again, Todd found a good video.
Here in Vermont, a large debate is happening in the Burlington School District over proposed plans to redraw district lines in an effort to force integration in schools. (More Info) I am throughly opposed to any plan calling for mandatory racial integration and decisions of school acceptance based upon race. I’m glad to see someone agrees. It’s not that I oppose racial integration or am racist. It is that I feel we should stop making exceptions for certain people. Instead of requiring a certain number of minority students to be accepted, we should simply accept solely based upon a student’s merits. In the words of Chief Justice Roberts, the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.
It is time people realized this and simply gave everyone an open playing field. A frequent argument is that some schools receive far more money than others. Instead of forcing students to go to a different school, solely based upon integration, we should open up the opportunity for students to chose their school. That means if a inner city students wants to attend an upscale school, allow them to, provided they can transport themselves. Likewise, colleges should drop diversity programs and simply take the best applications - there is no reason a minority students shouldn’t be able to quality likewise. The only exception should be scholarships, where it makes sense to award them based upon need. The only way to stop discrimination and segregation completely is to simply ignore socioeconomic status when making decisions. Let students chose the school they want.
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