Friday, August 10, 2012

Commentary on "University of Texas Sued For Race As A Factor In Admission"

Reading "University of Texas Sued For Race As A Factor In Admission" from the blog Don't Mess With Texas, Government, I found the article very pertinent to many of us college students. I took the time to read the article about Abigail Fisher mentioned by Serena as well and found several parallels to Michael Williams' story. 
According to The Daily Texan, the UT Academic Index and Personal Achievement Index evaluate students' eligibility of admission. The Academic Index measures applicants on class rank, curriculum completion and SAT/ACT scores. The Personal Achievement Index is slightly more controversial as it evaluates essays, extracurricular activities, leadership, awards, service and special circumstances which include race and ethnicity. 

Though Serena did not mention it, the article also reports that UT is the only public university to consider race and ethnicity as a factor, Texas A&M and Texas Tech do not. I found this very interesting considering all three are public universities (Texas A&M a partner flagship school). Why is that? 

I did some research and found that reverse discrimination lawsuits are growing in number across America. In an NBC News article "Does Reverse Discrimination Punish Whites?", many lawsuits are now originating on a racial basis. Firefighters, college faculty members, and of course college students are suing on behalf of racial discrimination. 

Roger Clegg makes an excellent point by saying "Quotas do not end discrimination. They are discrimination. The law makes clear that race, ethnicity and sex are not to be a part of who gets a government contract or who gets into a university or where someone goes to school". 

Serena's conclusion is very unbiased and agreeable. She claims that students seeking admission should aim to earn good grades, build their resume and do extracurricular activities. Her overall post is informative and important for college students to be aware of.

I personally think any sort of racial factor or quota should be prohibited. If we are to end discrimination, we need to stop fostering and providing instances where it is applicable in any way. 

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