Nigerian Teen gets accepted into all IVY League Schools

[KittenMittens]

I posted the article because I thought it was a pretty awesome achievement, but I should have known this would spawn a debate. I have no clue to what extent AA played a part in each of these school's decision but it certainly is sad that his admission into these schools will be marred by his skin color. After reading this thread, doing a quick search for his name and affirmative action shows a lot of people up in arms over this and they are totally willing to throw his achievements thus far out the window to discount his accomplishment. Many children of the "elite" get into these schools because someone has the right connections or because of legacy admissions. That's not much different than affirmative action in my opinion.

In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978), Allan Bakke’s application to the Medical School of the University of California at Davis (hereinafter “Davis” was denied twice even though he had a GPA and MCAT scores that were “significantly higher” than minorities admitted under an alternate admissions program at the same institution. As a result of his twice-denied application, Bakke filed suit against Davis, alleging that Davis’ admissions policy was in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The suit skipped over the intermediate appellate court and, after the trial court, was next heard by The California Supreme Court. The California Supreme Court agreed with Bakke’s position that this practice was discriminatory. The Court found that "no applicant may be rejected because of his race, in favor of another who is less qualified, as measured by standards applied without regard to race." The Court, in its decision, ordered Davis to abolish its quota system. In response, Davis appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed that it was unconstitutional for Davis to use “rigid” racial quotas to hold 16 of their 100 positions exclusively for minorities. The Supreme Court further held that it was constitutional for the school to utilize affirmative action policies in order to admit more minority students. Justice Powell penned the 5-4 split decision that it was appropriate for a university to strive for diversity in its admissions programs but adding that the university also has to consider other important factors on a case-by-case basis. Powell’s opinion set forth that Davis’ admissions policy violated the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause because it prevented whites from gaining entry to the school through use of 16 of the 100 seats solely because of their race. The Court held that it was not relevant that the discrimination was against a white person rather than a black person because racial quotas are always "odious to a free people whose institutions are founded upon the doctrine of equality."

Although Davis’ admissions policy was well-intentioned, it had the unfortunate side-effect of systematically discriminating against white applicants solely on the basis of their race. I agree with the Court’s conclusion that diversity within the student population is a "constitutionally permissible goal," and that "race or ethnic background may be deemed a 'plus' in a particular applicant's file." I also agree that rigid racial quotas are absolutely unconstitutional and should never be used to discriminate against anyone. If affirmative action is to be used, race should be only one of many factors for the sake of promoting diversity. No qualified applicant – white, black, or other - should be excluded from admission based upon race.

What would the consequences be for minorities (women, immigrants, etc.) if AA disappeared entirely? I don't know the answer to that but I could guess.

I want to be clear that I happy for this Nigerian individual. He worked hard, got excellent grades, and excellent SAT scores and he proves that there is no inherent academic or intellectual disadvantage for being black. No one is disputing his academic and intellectual capabilities and I would certainly be comfortable trusting him as a future brain or cancer doctor should he ever become one. He's certainly qualified for ivy league schools - but the question is he that exceptional enough that he can get into 8 ivy league schools? Those of us who who have personal experience, who read up on the issue, etc. are skeptical and bitter about this aspect because it tends to reflect how affirmative action gives boosts even when they shouldn't. I think given that he did well on his SAT, in school, and came from a rich background, he should have been put in the same pool as the others and not given an extra advantage based on the color of his skin. Ok, even if we wanted to give it to him, at least be from an African-American background/lineage.

I have no clue to what extent AA played a part in each of these school's decision but it certainly is sad that his admission into these schools will be marred by his skin color. After reading this thread, doing a quick search for his name and affirmative action shows a lot of people up in arms over this and they are totally willing to throw his achievements thus far out the window to discount his accomplishment. Many children of the "elite" get into these schools because someone has the right connections or because of legacy admissions. That's not much different than affirmative action in my opinion.

When a policy favors one group more than others on reasons more or less not based on academic and intellectual output (for unfair/right or wrong reasons), it is only natural and inevitable for other groups that are "disenfranchised" to feel bitter about an issue. After all, they're being told that they're not "good enough" despite doing everything they possibly can, being perfect at everything, and perhaps coming from even worse/poorer upbringings - which is quite often the case for many white male and Asian kids. But to basically be told you're not good enough because of the color of your skin, despite proving through merit you deserve a spot, only for a less qualified person to get in who worked less than you? It's reverse discrimination and racism in general.

It's good to know that a lot of people believe affirmative action gave him a big boost. I'd say it's pretty obvious that AA had a big role into getting into 8 ivies due to the statistical low odds of getting into one school, so I can confidently say that affirmative action did play a definite role in it. What the issue then becomes at least for me is how far we want to go with AA and to whom it should be given to.

From what I've seen, most people tend to come to an agreement that affirmative action shouldn't be exclusive based on a notion of skin color/ethnicity but also incorporating socioeconomic upbringing as well. I think it's certainly fine that poor people, if they are black or white or brown, get a chance to have an equal footing at a top college if they grew up poor, but not if they're an upper middle class/upper class kid who comes from wealth i.e. if you're black or hispanic and grew up rich, you don't deserve to get an extra pass, but it happens all the time & you'd be shocked how many people abuse the system like this all the time.