White Latinos and affirmative action

[Anonymous]

I'm not an affirmative action basher. I get it. I believe we need to take active steps to dismantle systems of oppression and I think this includes bringing underrepresented groups into elite schools even if its at the expense of others. I do think it should be class based rather than race based but that's a longer out thing. Here's my complaint for today: I keep seeing wealthy white Latino students from DD's school getting into top colleges. Like with many affirmative action cases, these kids are obviously qualified but the race box is what pushed them over the edge above a white or asian student. But here's the difference. These children don’t come from marginalized groups. Not only do these students present as white but they are almost universally upper class. Latin America has a race based class system like the US does. White Latinos are the oppressors in the same way WASPs have been in the US. It's ignorant and counterproductive to allow them to benefit from affirmative action. They don't need it to fight generations of oppression. I cannot think of a way to exclude these students from affirmative action without also boxing out peers from the same regions who have been negatively impacted by the colonizers so I don't think there's anything that can be done but it frustrates me to no end. I guess we've circled back to the need for affirmative action to be class based.

[Anonymous]

Even if they’re wealthy, their presence is valuable to the school. I don’t have a problem with this. Why insist that class diversity and ethnic diversity be provided by the same kids?

You’re only looking at the benefit to the student, not the benefit to the institution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even if they’re wealthy, their presence is valuable to the school. I don’t have a problem with this. Why insist that class diversity and ethnic diversity be provided by the same kids?

You’re only looking at the benefit to the student, not the benefit to the institution.

+1 Colleges aren't looking to create a campus environment where all of the rich kids are white and all of the non-white kids are poor. Why should that be a goal?

[Anonymous]

I think you're overstating the issue. The extra boost given to latinos in the college admissions process is a lot smaller than that given to African Americans. You don't need to worry that they're denying your poor little deprived white child any opportunities, believe me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even if they’re wealthy, their presence is valuable to the school. I don’t have a problem with this. Why insist that class diversity and ethnic diversity be provided by the same kids?

You’re only looking at the benefit to the student, not the benefit to the institution.

+1 Colleges aren't looking to create a campus environment where all of the rich kids are white and all of the non-white kids are poor. Why should that be a goal?

Students (including the HUGE number of very wealthy students) from the Middle East are treated as white for admissions purposes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not an affirmative action basher. I get it. I believe we need to take active steps to dismantle systems of oppression and I think this includes bringing underrepresented groups into elite schools even if its at the expense of others. I do think it should be class based rather than race based but that's a longer out thing. Here's my complaint for today: I keep seeing wealthy white Latino students from DD's school getting into top colleges. Like with many affirmative action cases, these kids are obviously qualified but the race box is what pushed them over the edge above a white or asian student. But here's the difference. These children don’t come from marginalized groups. Not only do these students present as white but they are almost universally upper class. Latin America has a race based class system like the US does. White Latinos are the oppressors in the same way WASPs have been in the US. It's ignorant and counterproductive to allow them to benefit from affirmative action. They don't need it to fight generations of oppression. I cannot think of a way to exclude these students from affirmative action without also boxing out peers from the same regions who have been negatively impacted by the colonizers so I don't think there's anything that can be done but it frustrates me to no end. I guess we've circled back to the need for affirmative action to be class based.

Mrs. Hilarious Baldwin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even if they’re wealthy, their presence is valuable to the school. I don’t have a problem with this. Why insist that class diversity and ethnic diversity be provided by the same kids?

You’re only looking at the benefit to the student, not the benefit to the institution.

+1 Colleges aren't looking to create a campus environment where all of the rich kids are white and all of the non-white kids are poor. Why should that be a goal?

Why would all the rich kids be white without affirmative action? Plenty of minority candidates are well qualified on their own merits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even if they’re wealthy, their presence is valuable to the school. I don’t have a problem with this. Why insist that class diversity and ethnic diversity be provided by the same kids?

You’re only looking at the benefit to the student, not the benefit to the institution.

Are your kids wealthy white applicants checking off Latino because he or she visited Spain few times?

[Anonymous]

The point of affirmative action as a matter of law is to remedy past discrimination or the discriminatory effects of past practices. It is not to give an advantage to economically underprivileged students -- there are many other programs designed to address that. So, if a school has found that its admissions policies previously caused underrepresentation of those who could '"check the Latino box," then admitting those who can do so remedies that underrepresentation, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the shade of their skin or bank account balance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The point of affirmative action as a matter of law is to remedy past discrimination or the discriminatory effects of past practices. It is not to give an advantage to economically underprivileged students -- there are many other programs designed to address that. So, if a school has found that its admissions policies previously caused underrepresentation of those who could '"check the Latino box," then admitting those who can do so remedies that underrepresentation, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the shade of their skin or bank account balance.

In the meantime, poor Asian applicants are excluded from top universities on the basis of race.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not an affirmative action basher. I get it. I believe we need to take active steps to dismantle systems of oppression and I think this includes bringing underrepresented groups into elite schools even if its at the expense of others. I do think it should be class based rather than race based but that's a longer out thing. Here's my complaint for today: I keep seeing wealthy white Latino students from DD's school getting into top colleges. Like with many affirmative action cases, these kids are obviously qualified but the race box is what pushed them over the edge above a white or asian student. But here's the difference. These children don’t come from marginalized groups. Not only do these students present as white but they are almost universally upper class. Latin America has a race based class system like the US does. White Latinos are the oppressors in the same way WASPs have been in the US. It's ignorant and counterproductive to allow them to benefit from affirmative action. They don't need it to fight generations of oppression. I cannot think of a way to exclude these students from affirmative action without also boxing out peers from the same regions who have been negatively impacted by the colonizers so I don't think there's anything that can be done but it frustrates me to no end. I guess we've circled back to the need for affirmative action to be class based.

I understand your frustration, OP. I'm sure that others are frustrated when the Obama girls get counted as affirmative action candidates, too. For what it's worth, my white-looking Latino kid has one very brown grandmother and significant indigenous ancestry on 23andMe. He also has two light-skinned Latino grandparents and their phenotype won out. Ancestry isn't as simple as we'd like it to be. I'd like to think that my Latino kid will be a champion for all Latinos, including those with much less privilege. I do agree that the affirmative action movement in this country needs to be fixed, even though my child and I have benefitted from it (with high SAT scores and other qualifications, I will add!).

[Anonymous]

if it concerns you, pay for a family tree and then check the appropriate boxes based on what you get.

[Anonymous]

It will never be fixed because it's an easy way to make woke people feel good about themselves and an easy way for an institution to classify themselves as diverse.

Real change and real action with real results takes work, a lot of work, and it's not as easy to pat oneself on the back with easy one liners.

[Anonymous]

I’m trying to figure out how you know these kids are “qualified” to get into the top schools but that it’s their ethnicity that got them admitted? Do you work for the school and see their records? Or you assume they couldn’t have gotten in any other way besides saying they are Latino?

[Anonymous]

The way to exclude them that you are looking for would be to exclude them if they check off “white.”