<p>I don’t think many people have a problem in giving affirmative action to truly disadvantaged kids, but affirmative action has now evolved (or should I say devolved) into basically a quota system.</p>
<p>The colleges say they are engaging in “holistic” admissions, but to me, it seems like they have a preset target figure already in mind regarding what percentage of each minority they want in their class, and then they work backwards to achieve that target number, with the end result being, for example, that an african american who is the daughter of a teacher and a police officer is given preference over an asian kid who comes from a poor family. </p>
<p>Many people supporting affirmative action now openly proclaim that it is OK to give preference to a member of a particular racial group even if he is not from a disadvantaged background, just so the college can achieve “diversity”. Hence, asian and jewish kids are effectively discriminated against, because they are considered “over” represented for diversity purposes. I, for one, want the most competent surgeon operating on my child, no matter what their color. I especially deplore giving affirmative action to someone simply because they are “hispanic”. Many people who are hispanic are indistinguishable from regular caucasions, yet they get a break on admissions. For example, I have a client who got into Columbia. She is hispanic. Yet she came from a priviledged background, and her family lives in a $500,000 condo in Miami. Should she really get preference simply because she has a Spanish last name???.</p>