Obama Administration Issues Affirmative Action Guidance For Colleges

Inside Higher Ed:

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Comments

[jordan-voteobama]

06:43 AM on 12/18/2011

If you read the guidance issued by the Obama adminstration and think he is playing the race card, YOU ARE LIVING PROOF THAT THIS GUIDANCE IS NEEDED. It clearly states that universities CAN take race into account, and if they do, they can assign weight to it, but NOT SO MUCH WEIGHT that applicants are defined by their race or accepted because of it.

Don’t make empty, uninformed statements. Read the language itself (which I’ve added below because you obviously have not read for yourself) and then see if you feel the same way. If your opinion does not change after reading, at least your opinion will be an informed one and not one of ignorance.

And yes, I will be voting for President Obama in 2012.

From the actual guidance...

"When an institution is taking an individual student’s race into account in an admissions or selection process, it should conduct an individualized, holistic review of all applicants," the guidance says. "That is, the institution should evaluate each applicant’s qualifications in a way that does not insulate any student, based on his or her race, from comparison to all other applicants. An institution may assign different weights to different diversity factors based on their importance to the program. Race can be outcome determinative for some participants in some circumstances. But race cannot be given so much weight that applicants are defined primarily by their race and are largely accepted or rejected on that basis."

[BigBruin78]

02:51 PM on 12/06/2011

Wow, big suprise here! NOT. Why should there be affirmitive action? Why cant we judge those based on merit. The one with the most credentials should be in. If there is a white kid with a 4.0 and 2000 on his SAT's and a black kid with a 3.9 and a 2000 on SAT's who should get in? The one with the higher GPA. Of course thats not all they base it on. Im just being very superficial. There are other factors like commuinty service and extra-curriculars and such. But what im saying is that should not base application by race.
It was Martin Luther King Jr. who said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

[Texanbornandraised]

02:12 PM on 12/06/2011

Diversity in a majority of Colleges are low. It's not making the minority the majority, or playing the so-called "Race Card". It's about a college with over 30,000 students having 1-5% black student enrollment; and 5-7% Hispanic. Colleges would not only focus on race. Colleges should be proud they are known as a school of diversity. Minority students want to be given a chance to excel in life and be able to get experiences in life. It's easy for us to say there is no need for affirmative action; if we are not affected. We "haven't walked a mile in their shoes". We are not exposed to the same situations but, we think we are experts when it comes to them. We get concerned when we feel something may get taken away from us. Even with 88-95%. We want that extra 5-12%. How dare we give it to someone else?
All groups should have a chance a successful. We should want our students to have the chance to not only learn book smarts, but to learn from different cultures. When we segregate our surroundings, we limit ourselves in knowledge. How smart is that? Look inside yourself and be realistic. Saying things have changed or is better because "We have a Black president" doesn't fix the problems we face. It is a step in the right direction but we still have some work to do.

[ajustman]

10:15 AM on 12/06/2011

The fact is that the so called minorities want to be the majority by any means. They want the money

[jrwest78]

06:00 AM on 12/06/2011

this is how he got into Columbia and Harvard...

no wonder

[Thomas VonBerge]

11:53 PM on 12/05/2011

By favoring some your neglecting others. Racism

[kejavas]

11:36 PM on 12/05/2011

Favortism has no place in higher education

[kejavas]

11:35 PM on 12/05/2011

Yes, he is 100% always for the race card

[Intelligentia]

09:04 PM on 12/05/2011

What Affirmative Action?