Reply to Where do you think Malia Obama will enroll?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I wouldn't be surprised if she chose a classic - like Princeton (her mother's undergrad alma mater).  I know she is interested in film production but I seriously doubt if she would attend a school like NYU or USC.  It would be cool if she did.  [/quote]

I read somewhere that Michelle Obama did not like her time at Princeton and has been an estranged alum.[/quote]

In the 80s, Princeton was a very weird place for African Americans.  The whole diversification exercise always felt a bit forced.  I am sure that it is much better now.[/quote]
Let's be clear. It may have been awkward, but it was not forced. It was a voluntary initiative to admit minority students like MO who objectively were usually less qualified than other students in order to enhance their future opportunities and the opportunities of their children.  And, by and large, that is exactly what it has achieved. [/quote]

No, I meant what I said.  During that same period, both Harvard and Yale had much better success attracting and assimilating a diverse student body.  At Princeton, the AA students often felt like they were "others".  Social life at Princeton centered around the eating clubs, which had only recently been integrated and only on a superficial level.  Princeton had not yet worked past its legacy as a school for southern gentlemen.  Further, it had nothing to do with any of the students being objectively less qualified, but everything to do with being less welcome.  Nice try.  Blame it on affirmative action and not the attitude of the school.[/quote]

I was at Princeton at the time and your recollection (if it is that, rather than pure speculation) bears little relation to the reality. [/quote]

It was no different at the other Ivies in this period.  It's crazy how people want to bash the Ivies for some of the issues associated with affirmative action, when they could have sat back, admitted fewer minority students, and waited until the minority candidates coming from both private and public high schools were stronger academically.  If you think a white or Asian applicant to Princeton with Michelle Obama's credentials would have been admitted, you are nuts. They made a conscious decision to diversify, knowing that it would not be a cake-walk for students who arrived with fewer academic skills. [/quote]

I was the original person characterizing Princeton as less than accepting of AA students in the 80s.  Sorry to derail your narrative, but I was an AA private school kid with 1500 SATs, two professional parents, a varsity athlete,  who graduated with honors in biochemistry.  So, I don't fit your thesis of being less qualified...and that certainly wasn't the reason that I was treated as an other.  Again, blaming affirmative action for an unwelcoming environment just doesn't cut it.[/quote]

+1[/quote]+2[/quote]

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