3 ms·
i don't think it's that simple. I honestly think race and ethnicity make a difference. Disclaimer: I'm asian and I would certainly have been affected by discrim
by bllguo 6y ago
i don't think it's that simple. I honestly think race and ethnicity make a difference. Disclaimer: I'm asian and I would certainly have been affected by discrimination against my race in college admissions. Certainly I've felt bitter about certain school rejections.
On the other hand, there are multiple instances I can remember interacting with people of other ethnicities in uni and thinking "wow, I can't _ever_ see myself thinking that way" - and I think I'm better off for it. IMO, diversity of culture and thought is real.
If you extrapolate a pure meritocratic approach - the demographics of admissions will likely continue to skew white/asian into perpetuity. Fair? I suppose so. But is it good for society? That is harder to answer.
- totalZero 6y ago> If you extrapolate a pure meritocratic approach - the demographics of admissions will likely continue to skew white/asian into perpetuity If this is the case -- which I believe it is not -- then you are arguing that a meritocratic approach (normalized for factors that affect access to education) would skew toward white and Asian people. I recognize that you're speculating, but I don't believe there to exist a top-tier university that has actually put such a filter into practice for its admissions process, so there's insufficient data to verify your claim. In response to your speculation, I speculate what you would find is that, normalizing for economic and social factors, race makes little difference....If a pure merit-based approach actually skewed the playing field toward whites and Asians, it would already have been put into place long ago. The whole problem with racism is that it damages the ability for people to be judged on their merits.
- bllguo 6y agoI appreciate your take. I know that UC schools and Caltech are commonly held up examples of "meritocratic" approaches to admissions that skew heavily Asian - but your rebuttal would be that I haven't normalized for socioeconomic factors, right? I can definitely buy that possibility. Would be great if we can see some data, but I don't know if that's readily available. That said, from personal experience, I would still contend that _cultural_ diversity is valuable to uphold. I don't think diversity of thought stems solely from socioeconomic background.
- s1artibartfast 6y agoI think it depends on what you consider a meritocratic approach. Most would say that it by definition does not normalize for economic or social factors.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]