4 ms·

How is "accounting for a category called 'demographic,'... [pushing] up African-American and Hispanic numbers, while reducing whites and Asian-Americans" mainta

by lainga 8y ago

How is "accounting for a category called 'demographic,'... [pushing] up African-American and Hispanic numbers, while reducing whites and Asian-Americans" maintaining the "good old days"? Or are these stodgy elites just incompetent bunglers?

pishpash 8y ago
That's just dividing the (small) minority pie between the 'others'. If African American or Hispanic numbers ever threaten to reach those of the Asian horde, you think they'd keep promoting diversity?
- lainga 8y ago
  OK, first off, from TFA, "Harvard’s class of 2021 is 14.6 percent African-American, 22.2 percent Asian-American, 11.6 percent Hispanic and 2.5 percent Native-American or Pacific Islander, according to Harvard’s website." That leaves you with 49.1-percent white or Jewish, which I don't consider small pie. Second, I and my maternal ancestors haven't been part of a "horde" since Padishah Babur shacked up in the 16th century.
- throwaway37585 8y ago
  “Asian horde”? Really?
Ar-Curunir 8y ago
This was why this holistic admission was introduced in the first place: anti-semitism. Jewish applicants were becoming too good at the existing criteria used for admissions, so these universities switched to more subjective standards that they could use to disqualify these candidates.
- ra1n85 8y ago
  Do you have a source for that? I would have assumed it was to create some diversity in their acceptance pool.
  - lainga 8y ago
    I am thinking the parent was quoting also TFA, who themselves quoted the plaintiffs, whose source I am not sure: "They [the plaintiffs] compare Harvard’s treatment of Asian-Americans with its well-documented campaign to reduce the growing number of Jews being admitted to Harvard in the 1920s."
  - sequoia 8y ago
    > In the 1920's, the Protestant Establishment still dominated business and society. University administrators sensed that if they admitted too many Jews, they would alienate themselves from the power centers around them. So they restricted the number of Jews by shifting their admissions criteria and putting more emphasis on "character," measured by alumni connections, athletic skill and personal letters of recommendation. Applicants were less likely to be admitted if all they demonstrated was academic brilliance. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/books/review/the-chosen-getting-in.html https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/books/review/the-chosen-g...

by lainga 8y ago

pishpash 8y ago

That's just dividing the (small) minority pie between the 'others'. If African American or Hispanic numbers ever threaten to reach those of the Asian horde, you think they'd keep promoting diversity?

lainga 8y ago
OK, first off, from TFA, "Harvard’s class of 2021 is 14.6 percent African-American, 22.2 percent Asian-American, 11.6 percent Hispanic and 2.5 percent Native-American or Pacific Islander, according to Harvard’s website." That leaves you with 49.1-percent white or Jewish, which I don't consider small pie. Second, I and my maternal ancestors haven't been part of a "horde" since Padishah Babur shacked up in the 16th century.
throwaway37585 8y ago
“Asian horde”? Really?

Ar-Curunir 8y ago

This was why this holistic admission was introduced in the first place: anti-semitism. Jewish applicants were becoming too good at the existing criteria used for admissions, so these universities switched to more subjective standards that they could use to disqualify these candidates.

ra1n85 8y ago
Do you have a source for that? I would have assumed it was to create some diversity in their acceptance pool.
- lainga 8y ago
  I am thinking the parent was quoting also TFA, who themselves quoted the plaintiffs, whose source I am not sure: "They [the plaintiffs] compare Harvard’s treatment of Asian-Americans with its well-documented campaign to reduce the growing number of Jews being admitted to Harvard in the 1920s."
- sequoia 8y ago
  > In the 1920's, the Protestant Establishment still dominated business and society. University administrators sensed that if they admitted too many Jews, they would alienate themselves from the power centers around them. So they restricted the number of Jews by shifting their admissions criteria and putting more emphasis on "character," measured by alumni connections, athletic skill and personal letters of recommendation. Applicants were less likely to be admitted if all they demonstrated was academic brilliance. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/books/review/the-chosen-getting-in.html https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/books/review/the-chosen-g...