Comments on: Minority Report

By: Just Thinking About it

Just Thinking About it — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:30:29 +0000

#7- This magnet school did exactly what I said it did. When this magnet school opened, the drawing for admission required a certain test score, and each class to consist of 50% African-American and 50% other. I believe they were classes of 80 thus 40 African-Americans and 40 others.
Im pretty sure that is called a racial quota.
This was finally deemed unconstitutional and admission for the drawing was no longer based on race. However the test score from a test taken in the 8th grade still determined if you qualified for the drawing. If you didn’t make the drawing you were put on a waiting list.
Since then there has been a very high majority of white students attending the magnet school thus defeating the whole purpose of creating the school which was the governments solution to correcting racial disappearances in the area high schools.
I believe a merit based school should be open to all of those who qualify, not just those who get lucky enough to have their name drawn.
This would lead to more competition for the failing school to retain these students who do qualify for the magnet school and provide a lot more incentive to adhere to the needs of the “kids left behind,” minority or not.

By: Rob W.

Rob W. — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:55:31 +0000

#5- I don’t have any idea what your point is, other than rambling off-topic about school choice. Did this magnet school enforce racial quotas and fully segregate, or did they disregard that plan and “resegregate”? Why are you ranting about both?

And how is introducing a merit-based magnet school any different in theory than giving money to an outside group to run their own school? The magnet school isn’t the problem; it’s the kids left behind.

By: baker

baker — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:19:25 +0000

Mande and race…..you can pretty well expect a strange and really off-base post every few weeks, it seems.

By: Just Thinking About it

Just Thinking About it — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:33:31 +0000

How about when a white person attends a primarily African-American high school? A failing school I might add. Is this student a minority?
Lets say this school is exceedingly African-American, with some of the lowest, (in some cases, the lowest) test scores in the state. And it just so happens that right on the other side of the town there is a magnet school that was opened with the intent for each class entering the school to achieve a certain score on a test and to have an equal amount of African Americans and other races. (50% African American â€“ 50% other races)
However this admission based on race was soon found to be unconstitutional, the test is still required in order to be qualified to be drawn to get in the school. Today, this magnet school is now considered one of the best schools in the state. The changing of the schools in this district was intended to level out the disappearances in races in the high schools. However it has done the complete opposite in almost re-segregating the high schools with this â€œmagnetâ€ school which is primarily white.
So opposing school choice, which was argued to re-segregate the district and leave other schools under funded, this county decided to let the government come in (because government knows best) and enforce racial equality in the schools. After all, it is proven fact that the more racially diverse a classroom is, the more students will learn and achieve right? At least thatâ€™s what the government wants you to believe. So when a African-American or a minority white student is stuck in this failing school, because A) He/She qualified to get into the magnet school and was not drawn to get in, or B) He/She didnâ€™t qualify for the drawing, where is the government bureaucracy to come in and scream for minority rights in failing schools?

By: Rob W.

Rob W. — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:47:07 +0000

You’re wrong on two fronts:

1. Most of the programs you speak of are for “underrepresented minorities”, not minorities in general, with the idea that a diverse workplace/school functions better. In my department (chemistry at a research university), ethnicity is not considered in the admission decision, but we have someone who is in charge of specifically recruiting the “underrepresented minorities” to try to get more than, say, 10% of our student body to be made up of African-American and Hispanic students. Since whites and Asians are both overrepresented in our department compared to the general population, they just get regular recruitment. I highly doubt white students will be underrepresented in many things any time soon.

2. If you’re a white dude who goes to an historically black university, you can get a minority scholarship right now, since whites would be underrepresented at someplace like SC State. I have a family member that’s done that at an HBC in Georgia.

Bonus: I seriously, seriously doubt that there are loads of minorities out there that got a job or position solely because of their race, or even that got that big of a boost from it. If I’m wrong, show me some data. When you initially said, “when will whites be treated like minorities”, I really thought you were asking when whites would have to go to subpar schools, drink from different water fountains, and generally get the short end of the stick because of institutionalized racism.

By: OnTarget

OnTarget — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 12:42:24 +0000

Mande you are on target! If and when caucasion people become classified as minority then they will enjoy the same rights as any other minority (set asides, job preference in hiring, etc.). However, the “flavor” or “color” that becomes the majority will cease receiving benefits of a minority status.
Sounds like a twilight zone episode….

By: Not Only That

Not Only That — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 12:23:23 +0000

That was painful.

By: Mande's mom

Mande's mom — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 01:41:58 +0000

Wow. The sheer ignorance in this post is beyond comprehension. Does Mande try to be an idiot or is it just natural?