Diversity does not require condescension Diversity does not require condescension
Tuesday, March 4, 2003
By Roger Hernandez
With oral arguments about the University of Michigan's use of affirmative action in admissions scheduled before the Supreme Court in April, The New York Times published excerpts from briefs submitted by "more than 300 organizations" supporting those policies. The Times said that all of them (including, one supposes, the ones that the newspaper did not see fit to print) "contended that a racially diverse, well-educated work force was essential to the success of their operations."
One brief from "more than 60 corporations, including Microsoft, Boeing and American Express" stated: "Because our population is diverse, and because of the increasingly global reach of American business, the skills and training needed to succeed in business today demand exposure to widely diverse people, cultures, ideas and viewpoints ... (The companies) need the talent and creativity of a work force that is as diverse as the world around it."
Who can possibly argue against that? Not me. Neither can I argue against the rationale put forth by the Association of American Medical Colleges about the need for more black and Hispanic physicians: "Empirical studies consistently demonstrate that minority physicians - notably, African-Americans and Hispanics - are significantly more likely to practice in underserved areas comprised largely of minority and poor populations.
They are also more likely to undertake research addressing the unique medical concerns of minority populations. These populations are precisely those that, on average, have the most severe health problems and medical needs."
Another strong argument came from "military officials, including three joint chiefs of staff, two former defense secretaries and several four-star generals," who wrote that the low numbers of black officers during the Vietnam War resulted in "increased racial polarization, pervasive disciplinary problems and racially motivated incidents," problems that the armed forces solved by putting in place "dramatic changes intended to restore minority enlisted ranks' confidence in the fairness and integrity of the institution."
No doubt, it is important for corporations to have a work force able to deal with diverse people and cultures. No doubt, there is a need for more physicians who bring health care to the poorest areas, and no doubt "minority" physicians are more likely to fill that role. No doubt, a fully integrated officer corps is essential to earn the respect of the fully integrated enlisted ranks. And no doubt, creating a diverse student body at American campuses is an essential first step in reaching those goals.
Yet there is also no doubt that the system the University of Michigan uses to pursue those worthy goals, a system that automatically awards extra points to all black and Hispanic applicants regardless of their socio-economic status, is wrong. What universities should do is award extra points to individuals from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, regardless of race.
This would address the need for ethnic diversity, because the reality of life in America is that most of the people who can be classified as "socio-economically disadvantaged" belong to one of the so-called minority groups.
Such a policy would also have the advantage of giving a leg up to individuals who are disadvantaged but are not officially recognized as such in the reigning hierarchy of ethnic suffering.
What this policy would not do is give an extra boost to middle- or upper-class black and Hispanic applicants. And that's as it should be. With campus diversity achieved by admissions policies focusing on applicants' socio-economic circumstances, what reason could there possibly be for adding extra points to the admissions application of someone who is a "minority" but attended an excellent suburban high school or comes from a family of upper-middle-class professionals?
Just one reason: To maintain the patronizing fiction that all of us said to be members of a "minority" group are just po' folks who can't get by without help.
Roger Hernandez is a syndicated columnist and writer-in-residence at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Reach him at rogereh@optonline.net
Copyright © 2003 North Jersey Media Group Inc. Copyright infringement noticeThis broad support underscores the importance of affirmative action to the nation's welfare.
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