Persons of non-color need not apply
Updated 08 September 2004: Jared has been accepted into the class (at bottom of post)
Updated 03 August 2004: The University gives in
Wow…
Republicans call CU class discriminatory
How would you phrase this in PC-lingo? I’m pretty sure it’s not considered polite to simply say “NO WHITES”, though that is exactly what the University of Colorado is doing.
I have been waitlisted for an education class (fulfills core requirements) for a couple months now for the fall semester. I just received an email today from the University of Colorado notifying me that a new section has opened! I thought, great….then I read the email, which is as follows:
�A section of this course is available to anyone who is either a first- generation college student or a student of color.
…
Because I am white, I cannot register for classes which help me graduate on time?
Not quite. You would also be excluded if you were an Eskimo or an Asian.
“It’s purely and blatantly segregationist,” said Brad Jones, chairman of CU’s College Republicans.
The popular “school and society” course in the School of Education is taken by education majors and meets a general graduation requirement for non-majors. The course � which has a lengthy waiting list � is broken into smaller sections or classes, including one specifically for minority and first-generation students.
Jones said some white students “who may need this class to gain entry into the School of Education or to fill a core requirement will find out they would be able to get into the class only if the color of their skin was right, and that’s a horrible thought.”
It’s not horrible to everybody. The school thinks it’s just fine and they’re quick to defend the racist policy.
School of Education Dean Lorrie Shepard said the section requirements meet the state’s interpretation of federal law because they are not strictly race-based. In addition to minority students, the class includes those of any race who are the first in their family to go to college.
Ah, I see. Whites (and Eskimos and Asians) may attend as long as their parents didn’t go to college. What about students who don’t know their parents? Adoptees or a kid who’s daddy abandoned the family. Mom didn’t go to school but it’s possible Dad did. If a sibling is in college is a white student no longer eligible for this class? Only if that sibling enrolled after the prospective student? What if they started together (co-ed twins or some-such)?
I jest a bit but this is a serious item. Proponents of racial admissions favoritism site a desire for a diversified student body. A class admission requirement of “black (and poor white)” is a direct attack against that argument.
Can you imagine what would happen if the university had a class restricted to “non-colored and second-generation college students”?
(Tip credit to Jared Miller)
UPDATE
From Jared Miller:
The school gave in.
Got an email this morning which says this:
“Dear Students Enrolled or
Wait-listed in a Section of EDUC
3013 for Fall 2004,The message sent to you on July 27 regarding a special section of 3013 was not correct.
It is the intention of the School of Education to recruit students of color and first generation college students to participate in a special section of 3013 for the purpose of creating a critical mass of such students. However, the language in the e-mail which restricted enrollment exclusively on the basis of race was in error and is against university policy.
We apologize for any misunderstanding. If you are interested in enrolling in this section, which meets on Friday mornings from 9 to 11:30, please respond to this e- mail.”
Typical doublespeak. “Our policy isn’t racist, you just interpreted our grammar mistake incorrectly.”
Anyway, students like Jared will now be elligible for admission to the newly opened section.
UPDATE:
Jared informed me near the end of August that he had been admitted to the class. So far, so good as he has not reported any irregularities from the instructor.
Best of luck, Jared!
Id still rather be white.
Perhaps he could put on blackface and go register. That seems to fit in with the mentality of the college administration.
Someone has already suggested that to me
When will America become a society that judges a person by their character and not the color of their skin?
See what the wondeful thing called Affirmative Action does? It affirms that if you are not a minority you won’t get it.
Tommorow the school will have a response on whether or not they will allow other students into the class. If they refuse, it will end up in court. I’ll be sure to update you all on what happens.
Couyld we have classes limited to white students and the descendents of Ivy League graduates?
It would be interesting to follow and see if Jared is accepted.
I’m now supposedly on a list(with a good chance) and will find out on August 18th if I’m in.
I just want to see a United White College fund
He should enroll, and on the 2nd day, withdraw from the class. It ain’t about receiving the education. It’s about making a point.
I’m sure there are plenty of liberal protestors who protest not because they WANT what they are protesting against, but just to protest and make a point.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, but I still am. Is there any person who doubts that we’ve come so far as reverse discrimination now?
I would. Our society in general favors whites far more than minorites. Even in —especially in–universities. Admission to college or even to a particular class is just a sliver of the whole college experience.
This is clearly a extremely stupid and unfair rule. But it’s not affirmative action.
I also think “reverse discrimination” is an inane concept. Discrimination is discrimination.
To take this single case and make an argument that now all whites are second class citizens is equally inane.
is there a single person of color who reads or comments on your list? My guess would be no. This is one of the better forums I’ve seen as an example of educated ignorance. Read more about the policy, accept that there was a mistake made and consider, just for a moment, that the world is not equal and that White people in this country have an inordinate amount of opportunities conferred on them not through merit, hard-work or equality, but through systematic privilege. The University of Colorado is, basically, a whites-only institution. One effort to try to create a forum for people who have otherwise been marginalized and oppressed and all the white folks freak out. Do you wish you had a place where you could feel comfortable, where you could talk to people who look like you, have had cultural experiences like you, read the same books as you, faced similar struggles and successes as you and could, for all intents and purposes, understand you? Oh, wait, you do- it’s called college. No, it’s called Congress, no, the Senate, no, the government, the media…
While I’m sure that there are people out there who have had a similar history to my own, I do not pretend that I will find them by filling a room with people who match my skin color. I feel sad for people who do think that way.