3 page autobiographical sketch
dream86
references.docx· Week 4 Course Notes
While Intersectional Theory tells us that we cannot see different categories of identity as mutually exclusive, we can explore instances in which particular aspects of identity have come to the forefront. Understanding diversity means exploring how diversity practices (or practices that reject diversity) have been implemented in everyday life. Using the terms, concepts, and theories from this course we can examine how matters of diversity have been made visible in universities.
Matters of Diversity Concerning Race and Ethnicity
"The College Scholarship Conundrum"
In recent times, there has been a public debate about the place of diversity in institutions of higher education, and in particular, whether universities or other organization should make scholarships available exclusively for specific racial or ethnic groups. While these groups continue to be underrepresented in public and private universities around the country, that has not stopped many people from arguing such scholarships are either inherently unfair, or allow unqualified students into college classes. Some suggest that such scholarships should be discontinued and others still have proposed more radical solutions. One such individual was Colby Bohannan, who in 2011 a group called the "Former Majority for Equality," an organization that offered a scholarship to white men only.
To read an interview with Bohannan, click on the following link:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=134623120
Other have argued Bohannan's efforts are based upon a misguided sense of white male victimhood. Writer Mark Kantrowitz points out that minority students are still less likely to receive scholarships than their white counterparts, something he explores at length in his research on the subject.
http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/20110902racescholarships.pdf
Matters of Diversity Concerning Gender and Sexuality
"Prioritizing Tran-Inclusivity"
College campuses have also had to consider matters of diversity when it comes to gender and sexuality. Recently, LGTBQ advocate organizations have argued for the need for greater trans-inclusivity, including the need for considering trans populations in student housing. Advocacy groups point out the Title IX law (1972) prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender for all schools that receive federal funding.
Articles which explore the matter more in-depth can be found here:
https://www.calstate.edu/gc/documents/NACUANOTES-TransgenderIssuesonCampus.pdf
Matters of Diversity Concerning Class
"Student Loans as a Life Sentence"
As college tuition has risen dramatically over the past thirty years (refer to the chart below) students, particularly working class students, have found it more and more difficult to pay for higher education without a loan.
Note that the chart is adjusted for the value of the 2016 dollar, which makes the rise in costs all the more stunning. Given that in particular four-year state universities have seen dramatic increases, those who cannot pay out of pocket are faced with the difficult choice of acquiring crushing debt or choosing not to go to college at all, making even public institutions more inaccessible.
The following article offers more detail on the matter:
http://blackyouthproject.com/student-loan-debt-is-becoming-a-life-sentence-in-the-us/
Sociology is a Martial Art!: Affirmative Action in the Courts and Beyond
"Fisher V. University of Texas"
In 2015, a case before the Supreme Court brought affirmative action once again into the spotlight. Abagail Fisher, a student who'd applied and been rejected to the University of Texas at Austin sued the university, alleging that being white disadvantaged her. She claimed that she'd been rejected specifically because UT-Austin considered race as a factor in admissions, and that less qualified minority students had been admitted at her expense. The Court upheld the UT's right to consider race in their admissions process, and Ms. Fisher lost the case definitively.
Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion in the 4-3 decision in the case, stating, "A university is in large part defined by those intangible ‘qualities which are incapable of objective measurement but which make for greatness." He continued, "Considerable deference is owed to a university in defining those intangible characteristics, like student body diversity, that are central to its identity and educational mission," and went on to add, “it remains an enduring challenge to our nation’s education system to reconcile the pursuit of diversity with the constitutional promise of equal treatment and dignity.”
You can read further on the case here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/24/us/politics/supreme-court-affirmative-action-university-of-texas.html
And read the Court's opinion in its entirety here:
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/15pdf/14-981_4g15.pdf
In the complete opinion, you can find the dissenting view of the Court offered by Judges Thomas and Alito. Judge Thomas writes that the decision, "[was] irreconcilable with strict scrutiny, rest[ed] on pernicious assumptions about race, and depart[ed] from many of our precedents."
The question of the fairness and value of affirmative action, both in institutions of higher education and other types of organizations, remains an important one. Social Sciences continue to produce considerable evidence that hiring, promotion, and admissions processes in different organizations privilege individuals on the basis of race, gender, and so forth. One such study can be found here:
