discrimination

By Lisa R. Pruitt In a prior post about Thomas Espenshade and Alexandria Walton Radford’s book, No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal:  Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life, I mentioned Ross Douthat’s assertion that “the downscale, the rural and the working-class” whites were most disadvantaged in elite college admissions.  In this second installment about the book and Douthat’s 2010 column comments on it, I want to discuss the rural issue, which Douthat characterizes as bias against rural or “Red America.”  Douthat wrote: “[W]hile most extracurricular activities increase your odds of admission to an elite school, holding a leadership role or winning awards in organizations like high school R.O.T.C., 4-H clubs and Future Farmers of America actually works against your chances.” In his response to Douthat’s initial column, Espenshade clarified that rural-oriented extracurriculars are not the only ones whose value is discounted by admission offices.   Espenshade wrote: “These extracurriculars might include 4-H clubs or Future Farmers of America, as Douthat mentions, but they could also include junior ROTC, co-op work programs, and many other types of career-oriented endeavors.  Participating in these activities does not necessarily mean that applicants come from rural backgrounds.  The weak negative association with admission chances could just as well suggest that these students are somewhat ambivalent about their academic futures.” As a related matter, Espenshade clarifies that applicants from “Red” states have better odds of getting into an elite university than those from more populous states, many of which are “Blue.”

Crowley is duty-bound to keep the peace and trained to deal with conflict; Gates is a professor, he is neither obligated nor trained to keep his cool.

Written by: Karla McKanders If Arizona's passing the immigration law on Friday is a measure of our nation's racial sensibilities, our country has a long way to go.  Our country has a long history of racial discrimination towards minority groups, including Latino immigrants. In the 1800s, Congress passed the Chinese exclusion laws barring persons of  Chinese descent from immigrating to the United States and implementing forced labor for those who violated the laws. California instigated the passing of discriminatory and racist exclusion laws. In the early twentieth century, states also passed alien land laws which barred ownership of property by non-citizens. These laws were targeted at Japanese immigrants who, as non-whites were barred from becoming citizens. In 1965, in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement, the Immigration Act was passed which abolished all racial quotas and racial considerations from influencing whether a person could immigrate to the United States. Our world is also all too familiar with the apartheid laws that excluded racial minorities in South Africa. In 1950, South Africa passed the Population Registration Act which formalized racial classifications and required all persons over eighteen to carry an identity card, specifying their racial group. All civil, political and economic rights were extended to persons based on the racial category in which they belonged. The Pass Laws required persons to produce a passport like document stating the person’s race. The penalty for failure to produce an identity card resulted in detention until the subject’s identity was verified. These laws may seem like a thing of the past, however, on Friday, Arizona passed Senate Bill 1070.  This law permits police officers and other state agencies to identify, prosecute and attempt to deport undocumented immigrants. The law would allow the police to detain people they reasonably suspect are in the country without authorization and makes it a criminal offense for not carrying immigration documents. Residents can also sue cities if they believe the law is not being enforced. In addition, “[t]he law creates new immigration crimes and penalties inconsistent with those in federal law, asserts sweeping authority to detain and transport persons suspected of violating civil immigration laws and prohibits speech and other expressive activity by persons seeking work.” Arizona Governor Jan Brewer claims that the law is in reaction to the federal government’s unwillingness to pass comprehensive immigration legislation and that the states have to enact and enforce their own immigration laws.