I see that this issue rises again; and so it should for it is important
enough a social topic to warrant further discussion.  I definitely agree
with Peter Amakobe that the need to educate ourselves on such issues
surpasses effrontery.  Afterall, we are in a society in which indoctrination
of the mind has been the name of the game for centuries.  We must therefore
understand that not everyone has garnered similar experiences even in areas
as paramount as this topic.  In furtherance of educating ourselves, the
following is a posting by me a few years back on this issue, please read on:

-----Original Message-----
From: Kumapayi, Ray
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 1997 4:01 PM
To: ADDRESSING, OPEN
Subject: Affirmative Action's Impact
------------------
Of interest to me and I hope to a majority of you is a narrative of the
discussion on affirmative action; the viewpoints of a guest columnist of the
Wisconsin State Journal.
Deborah Brandt, the guest columnist, is a professor of English and member of
the City of Madison Affirmative Action Commission.
In the November 9 issue, Professor Brandt narrated how a freshman, accepted
for admission to UW-Madison had earned a breathtaking low score of 10 on the
American College Test (ACT).  Was this Affirmative Action at work? You bet
it was.   The student was white  "....and so were the next five lowest
scorers in that entering class.  Oh yes, 27 African Americans were admitted
that same year with below average scores of between 16 an 20.  But so were
429 white students who tested in the same range."  This just goes to show
you that  "no minority students are being admitted to the university at ACT
levels at which white students are not also being admitted."
The above may seem like news to some of us.  The fact is, affirmative
actions of  all kinds are being practised by UW-Madison and other
universities.  The practise is to benefit majority of the students.  Added
Prof. Brandt: If the standards for admission were held such that the
applicants with only the highest ACT scores were allowed in,  the following
would result:
1. A precipitous decline in the enrollment of relatives of wealthy alumni
donors
2. Fewer students will be attending from rural communities and otherwise
underfinanced school districts
3. A decline in the number of those who are first in their families to
attend college
4. Maybe a non-existent enlisting for students with dyslexia,  test anxiety,
handicap or other learning disabilities
5. A decline in the number of children of immigrants who have the aptitude
but are lacking in the ever-changing and often-times confusing societal
lingo
6. A decline in the number of students with the kinds of talents that are
not easily measurable on a test per se as ACT
7. Class rooms will be over-run by only students of the already affluent and
already educated who these tests appear to be standardized for anyway.

While equal opportunity provides a level playing field for all, affirmative
action takes it a step further; the strive to eliminate all past and present
effects of discrimination.

I know, some people do not want that level playing field.  And why not;
because the only way these people can excel is to be a step (or two, or
three, maybe more) up from the onset.  They do not want to compete at the
same level.  They prefer that some were downtrodden and continue to be so.
Others would support equal opportunity but shun affirmative action because
it is stigmatized.  Well, we need multicultural assimilation and
appreciation whether we like it or not.  The stigma accorded the present
affirmative action only exists because those in the majority would rather
the status quo which only benefits them than diversity would.  Professor
Brandt clarifies this issue by stating: "It is both unfair and dangerous to
attack affirmative action based on race while leaving unscrutinized the less
visible forms of exceptions, exemptions and preferential treatments that go
into selection processes".
Affirmative Action, has from time, always existed to the benefit of a select
racial group.  Only it was never labeled affirmative action.  Now it is
undergoing an extension to all....with its labeling.  Label or no label, the
present affirmative action benefits all.  We all need the representation.
Affirmative action does not support the employment or the admission of the
unqualified over the qualified but rather the inclusion of a sect(s) that
have always been neglected in the past.

Suffice it to say that  Professor Deborah Brandt is a learned white female,
the beneficiary of equal opportunity, affirmative action and diversity
programs.

Just a thought!
Ray Kumapayi

The column I have referenced can be found in the Wisconsin State Journal of
November 9, 1997, page 2B.

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