Equal opportunity vs. equal results
This Web only Speakout has not been edited.
Charles King
Published April 11, 2008 at noon
According to the Colorado Daily (Paula Pant. March 27, “Reaching toward a rainbow") CU-Boulder Chancellor Bud Peterson told a meeting of CU’s “Regents and the chancellors from all three campuses” on March 26, that “Boulder’s goal is to create a campus that accurately reflects its surrounding demographics.” By these words does he mean that the number pf CU-Boulder’s students are to proportionately represent African Americans, Hispanics and American Indians who live in the State. Let’s see, if 30 percent of Colorado’s high school graduates each year are members of minority groups, and 70 percent are non-minority Americans, then for every 7 white American admittees, 3 minority members would be admitted. That’s not admission by merit, but racism. That’s not uniting America, but dividing us all.
If Chancellor Peterson means what I interpret his words to mean, he means dumbing down requirements for admission to the University of Colorado. Hiding under the name of “diversity, he seeks as many university higher officials have done the last two decades, to redefine “equal opportunity” as “equal results.” The two words are opposites, not synonyms.
The next time the good Chancellor praises “diversity,” the Regents should ask him to explain exactly what he means by that term. Linda Chavez, a graduate of CU-B and a well-known columnist, wrote in her national column (Jan, 23, 2008): “The United States has the finest universities in the world. But if we begin to erode excellence by eliminating objective standards for admission, we’ll pay for it by destroying the meritocratic system that has served us so well.”
I was geatly disappointed to read that CU President Bruce Benson [present at the Board of Regents meeting] is quoted as saying that diversity is “ critically important to our country, our city, our state...(and) to me.” If he meant the unfair practices of affirmative action, he has another think coming.
Americans constitute the most diverse nation in the world. That’s because we have assimilated as Americans, not as ethnic or racial groups. E Pluribus Plures (out of many, one) is our national mottoe.
It must remain that if we are to survive. The voters of Colorado will vote overwhelmingly in November for Initiative 31, the ballot initiative which will outlaw racial and ethnic preferences by all state government agencies, including the University of Colorado.
Charles King is a resident of Boulder.
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April 12, 2008
12:29 a.m.
Suggest removal
kathyM writes:
U. of Michigan went all the way to the Supreme Court to defend its race-based admissions system (undergraduate). On a 150-point scale, UM gave applicants 12 points for a perfect SAT score, 1 point for an outstanding admissions essay--and 20 points for being a minority. The Supreme Court declared the system unconstitutional in 2003.
CU Regents, if you want to implement a race-based admissions system, you're up for a legal battle that will only further tarnish CU's reputation (and dwarf the legal bills of the Ward Churchill and CU Football scandals).
April 12, 2008
8:54 p.m.
Suggest removal
Sweetpickle writes:
Just require minorities to sign a statement admitting that they are dumb and don't deserve to live here and require them to play football. That should satisfy many here.