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My high-school's college admissions advisors told us, in no uncertain terms, if you are non-white or mixed race, make sure you declare that because it will help
by BitwiseFool 5y ago
My high-school's college admissions advisors told us, in no uncertain terms, if you are non-white or mixed race, make sure you declare that because it will help your chances.
- klipt 5y agoUnless you're Asian, in which case declaring your race will lower your admission chances even relative to white people.
- BitwiseFool 5y agoWe actually had a few Pacific Islanders express anxiety with selecting "Asian American/Pacific Islander" because they were worried that identifying as such would subject them to more competition. They were advised to do it anyways.
- temp8964 5y agoI read somewhere says "Asian American/Pacific Islander" is a totally made up term by the federal government and basically has no root in reality.
- dragonwriter 5y agoAll human “races” are social constructs with no basis in reality other than the social perceptions of the group delineating them. So, yeah, that's true of API, but its just as true of, say, White.
- morpheos137 5y agoThere are most certainly meaningful genetic clusters in human populations. You can call these races or something else but to assert that differences between human populations only extend to a few superficial traits like skin tone is just ignorant and silly. For example there is a meaninful genetic reason why some sub-saharan populations have a higher incidence of sickle cell anaemia than Irish people or why most of those with native American heritage are less able to tolerate alcohol than Europeans.
- datad 5y agoIt’s a self label though, so social perceptions aren’t involved. I am whatever race I identify as, not whatever race other people think of me as. I can tell people that I’m Mexican and who are they to say otherwise?
- klipt 5y agoThere are limits to the self identification theory. See: Rachel Dolezal.
- refenestrator 5y agoIt's more true of API, look at an Indian, Chinese and Samoan person. The API group is basically "everyone else".
- haihaibye 5y ago> Genetic cluster analysis of the microsatellite markers produced four major clusters, which showed near-perfect correspondence with the four self-reported race/ethnicity categories. Of 3,636 subjects of varying race/ethnicity, only 5 (0.14%) showed genetic cluster membership different from their self-identified race/ethnicity. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929707625786 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000292970... Yes, "Continental superpopulations" is a more accurate term but it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue... https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSmcWGV8LvKvFFzD_XU4sB0EVvCaG3vDuWgcA&usqp=CAU https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSmcWGV...
- xyzzyz 5y agoThis is true in the exact same sense as is saying that all animal species are social constructs with no basis in reality other than the social perceptions of the group delineating them. Which is to say, in not very useful sense at all.
- BurningFrog 5y agoThe long shared history between Fijians and Turks is sadly not taught in US schools.
- rayiner 5y agoThe term “Asian American” was made up by Berkeley activists to cultivate left-wing identity among unrelated people: https://time.com/5837805/asian-american-history/ https://time.com/5837805/asian-american-history/
- imwillofficial 5y agoWhen the policies enacted to attempt to be less racist, have people scared to be honest about their race, I think you’ve blown it.
- 908B64B197 5y agoI recall hearing in casual conversation "ohh this guy is Asian and went to X so you know he's good". I was shocked. It must create a weird dynamic to have two identifiable groups where you know one got there on merit alone, while the other one maybe benefited from a quota.
- waterhouse 5y agoAbsolutely. This is one of the reasons affirmative action is poisonous—it creates rational reasons for discrimination. Which will, of course, be exaggerated by actual racists; but it's much harder to argue "Discriminating against group X is bad" when it's public knowledge that group X has passed a lower bar.
- menzoic 5y agoAffirmative action doesn't require a lower bar. Why do people keep saying that? It's also been banned in California since the 90s.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- 908B64B197 5y ago> Affirmative action doesn't require a lower bar How else can it be done?
- waterhouse 5y ago> Affirmative action doesn't require a lower bar. The one strategy I've heard of that doesn't do this, and isn't something any rational organization who saw no intrinsic benefit to "diversity" would already be doing, is "spending extra recruitment resources to yield good candidates of the underrepresented groups". For example, you could send 5 recruiters to all-female colleges or majority-black colleges that aren't highly ranked in CS, in the hopes of turning up as many good programmer candidates as you'd get from sending 1 recruiter to a highly-ranked CS college. That indeed does not require a lower bar—although it spends resources in a way I'd consider wasteful. But I don't think that's what affirmative action normally means, and I'm generally leery of allowing proponents to redefine the term more broadly (that type of thing enables motte-and-bailey argumentation). Did you have another strategy in mind?
- lordlimecat 5y agoI have worked at companies where their referral bonus schedule rewards white males at one-quarter the rate of female Asians. But the application of course states that race and gender are not considered....hmmm.
- daddylongstroke 5y agoHaha. Yep, same here. Just saw an email from our corporate HR head saying that we're paying an extra $1500 per referral for people considered a "minority" by the federal government definitions. I work at a tech co. where white people are a minority (less than 39%), so not sure what type of gobment subsidy they're after now?
- lordlimecat 5y agoIt's not generally government subsidy, its "corporate ethics" which is to say PR and investor relations. It "looks good" and attracts business, especially government.
- daddylongstroke 5y agoNah, it's specifically related to government contracts according to the recruitment email footer.