Justice Scalia Suggests Blacks Belong at "Slower" Colleges
ldent42
Posts: 7,859
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/12/justice-scalia-suggests-blacks-belong-slower-colleges-fisher-university-texas
During oral arguments in a pivotal affirmative action case on Wednesday morning, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia raised the suggestion that African American students might belong at less rigorous schools than their white peers, and that perhaps the University of Texas should have fewer black students in its ranks.
Scalia's comments came during arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas, a case over whether the university's use of race in a sliver of its admissions decisions is constitutional. The University of Texas-Austin is being challenged over its use of race in admissions decisions for about 25 percent of its freshman class. About 75 percent of the students at UT-Austin are admitted through what's known as the Top Ten Percent program, in which any student graduating within the top 10 percent of his or her class is guaranteed admission, regardless of race. The other 25 percent are admitted via a "holistic" process that takes race, and other factors, into account. It's the "holistic" program that Abigail Fisher—who was denied admission for the university in 2008—is challenging.
The University of Texas has determined that if it excluded race as a factor, that remaining 25 percent would be almost entirely white. During the oral arguments, former US Solicitor General Greg Garre, who is representing the university, was explaining this to the justices. At that point, Scalia jumped in, questioning whether increasing the number of African Americans at the flagship university in Austin was in the black students' best interests. He said:
After a comment like this, Court watchers will really be looking forward to his opinion in the case.
During oral arguments in a pivotal affirmative action case on Wednesday morning, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia raised the suggestion that African American students might belong at less rigorous schools than their white peers, and that perhaps the University of Texas should have fewer black students in its ranks.
Scalia's comments came during arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas, a case over whether the university's use of race in a sliver of its admissions decisions is constitutional. The University of Texas-Austin is being challenged over its use of race in admissions decisions for about 25 percent of its freshman class. About 75 percent of the students at UT-Austin are admitted through what's known as the Top Ten Percent program, in which any student graduating within the top 10 percent of his or her class is guaranteed admission, regardless of race. The other 25 percent are admitted via a "holistic" process that takes race, and other factors, into account. It's the "holistic" program that Abigail Fisher—who was denied admission for the university in 2008—is challenging.
The University of Texas has determined that if it excluded race as a factor, that remaining 25 percent would be almost entirely white. During the oral arguments, former US Solicitor General Greg Garre, who is representing the university, was explaining this to the justices. At that point, Scalia jumped in, questioning whether increasing the number of African Americans at the flagship university in Austin was in the black students' best interests. He said:
There are those who contend that it does not benefit African Americans to get them into the University of Texas, where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a slower-track school where they do well. One of the briefs pointed out that most of the black scientists in this country don't come from schools like the University of Texas. They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they're being pushed ahead in classes that are too fast for them.He went on to say, "I'm just not impressed by the fact the University of Texas may have fewer [blacks]. Maybe it ought to have fewer. I don't think it stands to reason that it's a good thing for the University of Texas to admit as many blacks as possible."
After a comment like this, Court watchers will really be looking forward to his opinion in the case.
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I've been told by parents of high school kids that it's very difficult to be accepted to UT. That surprised me since it's a state university but not having kids, I don't keep up with things like that. I was also surprised to read what a low percentage of students at UT are black.
This doesn't?
This justice scalia person got the job somehow.
Americans are a tough nut to crack.
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Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
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Some (not here, yet, but we'll see) are contesting that African Americans with lower SAT scores are being admitted to the higher level schools in order to maintain a racial diversity in them and that doing so is actually harmful to black minorities. Sounds like a logical argument, right?
Or is it? This is where critical thinking comes into play. Did any of these people take into consideration that lower SAT scores are often the result of these kids going to schools that don't provide the resources to help poor kids excel in school? Those scores often have more to do with economic disparity than with smarts. Isn't it interesting that these factors are often completely ignored?
Yes, this is sounding more like 1962 (or earlier) to me. I was only 11 in 1962 buts that's old enough to remember what the times were like. Yes, sorry to say it-- we have regressed.
This case may also end Affirmative Action in colleges.
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I would argue that diversity in schools is important. Homogeneity is a breeding ground for ignorance and racism. That's how trump gets poll numbers.
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I think the overall point is valid - if you suspend your admittance criteria to force a population in, those who "benefit" from that really will be at a disadvantage with their peers. Put race aside. If a school decided they wanted more kids of veterans to attend, and suspended the rigorous academic standards to get the numbers they wanted, those kids may well have a hard time keeping up with the curriculum if they couldn't meet the baseline standard for admittance. Hell, I know I wouldn't have stood a chance at Columbia, MIT, Harvard, Dartmouth, whatever. I didn't have an embarrassing record coming out of high school, but would have been way over my head being surrounded by academic overachievers. Nothing to do with intelligence - more to do with my focus/priorities at the time, the curriculum, and the pace of learning. I was happy doing things at the pace i was used to, and would have floundered in an institution that requires almost religious diligence to the coursework. It would have been a setup for failure to admit me to one of those institutions.
I am opposed to affirmative action, not because it is attempting to give a less represented population a shot (I applaud that!), but because of the above - if they couldn't pass muster from an academic standpoint, and were admitted due to some other factor, they likely aren't going to be prepared to succeed. If they were ready to be admitted, it would have been reflected in their previous coursework and scores. I would like to see data, and I'm sure it exists, regarding the success rates/graduation rates of those students who get admitted on the basis of something other than academic achievement vis-a-vis the general student population who were admitted based on their academics.