6 ms·

From NPR: 6 Words: 'My Name Is Jamaal ... I'm White' ... The principal who hired him told him he was lucky to get the job because they hadn't been planning t

From NPR: 6 Words: 'My Name Is Jamaal ... I'm White' ... The principal who hired him told him he was lucky to get the job because they hadn't been planning to take another student teacher. Then Allan's application showed up. "They scanned through it ... and they saw someone named Jamaal who played basketball, listed Muhammad Ali among his heroes and inspirations, and thought, 'We could use some diversity here, so let's bring this guy on, I think he'd be good for some of our younger minority male students,'" he says. http://www.npr.org/2015/05/06/404432206/six-words-my-name-is-jamaal-im-white http://www.npr.org/2015/05/06/404432206/six-words-my-name-is...

jessaustin 11y ago
That's interesting in itself, but this is a discussion of general trends so perhaps I've missed the point?
- repsilat 11y ago
  It was a tangential comment relating to natch saying, > I wonder if they still allow the names of admissions candidates to be revealed to the people who review the applications? It seems that hiding this would be a really basic step. > And no I'm not saying that a name tells you the race. But sometimes it is an indication. I guess a more relevant point is that if they think your race is relevant to admissions, then they're probably not thinking about removing names from the equation at all. I'd think that they'd happily admit to biases inherent in the process, but at the end of the day they'd argue that more information will allow them to make better decisions than less.
  - natch 11y ago
    >they'd argue that more information will allow them to make better decisions than less. Better decisions for whom? Perhaps for their friends whose children are applying. Sure they might argue that, in any case. And it might even be true, if they were free from all bias, whether conscious or subconscious. If they think race is relevant, they should just put that right out in the open as a requirement. Especially if they think that more information will allow them to make better decisions than less.

jessaustin 11y ago

That's interesting in itself, but this is a discussion of general trends so perhaps I've missed the point?

repsilat 11y ago
It was a tangential comment relating to natch saying, > I wonder if they still allow the names of admissions candidates to be revealed to the people who review the applications? It seems that hiding this would be a really basic step. > And no I'm not saying that a name tells you the race. But sometimes it is an indication. I guess a more relevant point is that if they think your race is relevant to admissions, then they're probably not thinking about removing names from the equation at all. I'd think that they'd happily admit to biases inherent in the process, but at the end of the day they'd argue that more information will allow them to make better decisions than less.
- natch 11y ago
  >they'd argue that more information will allow them to make better decisions than less. Better decisions for whom? Perhaps for their friends whose children are applying. Sure they might argue that, in any case. And it might even be true, if they were free from all bias, whether conscious or subconscious. If they think race is relevant, they should just put that right out in the open as a requirement. Especially if they think that more information will allow them to make better decisions than less.