<ol>
<li> While there has been some documented discrimination against fat/ugly people, there is a difference between that and race or gender. You can look at someone’s name and know, often, what race or gender they are. You cannot look at a name alone and see “fat” or “ugly.” There have been studies in which identical resumes were sent out to people, some with a woman’s name and some with a man’s name. Engineering professors more often recommended the male for a Ph.D. position.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>As for fat/ugly in of itself… there are very, very few high schoolers with either problem. Between the plethora of sports opportunities, a youthful metabolism, and the fact that you can determine what you eat, there are very few fat, active people at your age. Not saying that I’m not very sympathetic to those who are both overweight and healthy, but it’s rare. Also, at 17, simple grooming and cleanliness assures that you look at least pretty good. </p>
<p>I know that doesn’t really address your issue, but, in many ways, our society “blames” fat/ugly people for being that way. The discrimination also tends to be more social in nature; it is not very academic. The limited social discrimination doesn’t apply too much in many areas - perhaps a concert band director may choose a prettier, less talented violinist; however, the basketball coach may actually prefer a woman who looks less girly and more like she’s going to maul the opposition. There are, believe it or not, many women who have trouble because they are too pretty, perky, or whatever. I am not very pretty but ran into my share of trouble because I’m blonde (not bleached; not dyed; just have light hair). If you try to guess what discrimination someone went through based on their looks, it’s going to be a nightmare. </p>
<p>I disagree with income being the sole determinant. You can be a very low-income person but have a lot of opportunities - I know a few people who were able to live in apartments, small houses, or with grandparents so they could afford to live in a ritzy town with great school systems. Income, IMO, is a mediocre proxy for opportunity. I think that I’m a great example - my parents make a very nice income; however, only one of them finished college. They are just excellent businesspeople who are successful, but not academically inclined. Having a straight-A student on their hands was a surprise for them. I pretty much had to figure out the path to a top school on my own, because no one really knew. I didn’t do CTY or academic camps or anything else that helps you to stand out in college apps - we simply did not know about them nor think them important. Contrast that with the kids of teachers, who don’t have as much money but have much more academically-inclined households. </p>
<p>You are also leaving out a plethora of things that make people interesting. AA does more than rectify past wrongs - it insures that the campus is not full of white, upper-middle class students from the Boston suburbs and magnet schools. If you are talking about educational opportunities, there’s kids who have moved a lot (parents in the military), homeschoolers, kids from bad school systems, kids whose schools might be good but did not offer a lot of APs (like mine), etc. Then there’s other types of diversity: socioeconomic, political, geographic, international (people who were born abroad), all of which makes a class substantially more interesting. </p>
<p>Why don’t you advocate for the more moderate approach of having an essay that is used to show why you are special? Are you the kid who spent senior year in Pakistan? Did you grow up in a single-parent home? Are you going to be the only Democrat on campus in a traditional, Southern school? What about you is so neat that you are going to add to campus? In the alternative, what educational opportunities were denied to you?</p>