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Robert Winner

TEDCRED 50+

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Is the Texas affirmative action plan the right direction for education.

The first college admission slots are filled based on race.

The Univ of Texas stated, "the program is necessary to provide the kind of diverse educational experience the high court has previously endorsed. The rest of its slots go to students who are admitted based on their high school class rank, without regard to race."

Once again the Supreme Court has aligned by party affilation.

Less that 50% of black students graduate university. To be fair that number is likely driven by the atheltes on sports scholarships. However at Black Universities/Colleges the graduation rate is over 63%.

So the question is that if a student is selected by race ... not academic standing ... have we condemed some to failure .. should admissions be blind to race, sex, etc ... and selection conducted in a blind process based on academic standing, class rank, and college test scores. After all the brain is grey.

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    Josh S

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    Oct 19 2012: I agree that colleges should not look at gender/ race but here's the problem:

    A college that focuses on math or the sciences would be overwhelmingly filled with men more then women, and would be filled with more asian/whites then blacks/hispanics.

    Now I'm in school, and what i have said above is just the trends, so please dont call me a sexist or racist. I agree in equal opportunity for all, but this opportunity is not taken advantage of equally. I can look at my AP Chem class, its half asian, and 3/4 male. In reality, all my high level science courses are 3/4 men, and usually an equal amount of whites, indians, and asians, with very few blacks or hispanics. This is a general analysis, its not racist, just what it is.

    Now if a school has an un-proportionately high amount of any gender or race, minority groups will go SCREAMING racism/sexism. And colleges dont want to deal with it, who can blame them- it will only cost them tons of money.

    I think being politically correct and being battled by minority groups is the reason that there is this type of profiling. I hate it and think its wrong, but its definitely not going to go away.
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      Robert Winner 50+

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      Oct 19 2012: Josh, Is it possible you could tell me the name of the school you are enrolled at? I would like to go on line and do a little analysis. If you do not want to thats ok I can do it with another.

      You have seen the problem. With less than 50% of the minorities graduating, most in the first and second year drop out. So in the adfvanced classes the academically unqualified are no longer in the running and as you say the minority rate in advanced classes in very small.To be sure we are speaking the same language ... A minority to this administration is either Black or Mexican. The Asian and Indian students in your class are not minorities.

      Traditionally STEM classes have been male dominated. There is a movement to get more women into STEM majors. Women are now about three quarters of college graduates.

      Josh if you do not want TED to know where yo9u attend e-mail me through my profile. To have inside info about the class composure is a great benefit. Thanks

      All the best. Bob.

  • John Smith 30+

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    Oct 12 2012: A state that thinks Rick Perry is the right person to lead it is beyond hope in the education department...
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    pat gilbert 50+

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    Oct 12 2012: It sounds like Texas is changing for the worse? They don't even do this is California anymore. Of course the only reason it exists is for political capital.
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    James Zhang 30+

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    Oct 11 2012: I think the mentality is wrong. If there are less than 50% black students or other minorities who graduate, then rather than trying to lower the standards, they should find out ways to make their product more marketable/appealing to said demographics. Convince them why education is cool and your school is the place to be cool. Stuff like "Come to UT Austin. You can get the opportunity to work on cool projects, earn money while doing that work, get into big movie/music industries, or become DAT hero everyone looks up to, etc." Whatever message appeals to targeted audience.

    After all, a university is a product and just like every product, you have to sell the product by convincing consumers that your product is worth buying, and your product is the genuine and legit.
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    edward long 100+

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    Oct 11 2012: Whether the results are considered to be beneficial or prejudicial it is always wrong to treat a person according to their race. Fairness requires racial invisibility.
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      Josh S

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      Oct 19 2012: I agree, but don't you agree that minority groups may have a problem if only a handful of any minority group don't get in when most of other backgrounds do get in, even if was chosen without knowledge of the race?

      This is the problem, in an effort to be racially-fair, we are being racially unfair
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        edward long 100+

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        Oct 19 2012: Is "racial fairness" different from "racial preference"? In a group of candidates for a job no candidate should be treated differently because of their race. Hiring decisions should be based on education, experience, and overall suitability for the job. If a person is hired because of their race it is just as much a travesty as the person who does not get hired because of their race. Both are equally unjust. Race and gender (except for gender-specific jobs) has no place in the fairness equation. There are far better ways to bring equal opportunity to disadvantaged groups.
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