A news story here has garnered some attention; it's
about how "Black students at Duke University are angry over a university
research paper that found African-American undergraduates at the school are
disproportionally more likely to switch from tough majors to easier ones."
There's not much in it that denies the truth of the paper's conclusion, but
what's interesting is that the story suggests that many think that
researchers should keep such unpleasant facts to themselves:
"The implications and intentions of this research at the hands of our very
own prestigious faculty, seemingly without a genuine concern for proactively
furthering the well-being of the black community is hurtful and alienating,"
wrote the officers of Duke's Black Student Alliance in an email sent to the
state NAACP.
Note the suggestion that that research should not be undertaken by those at a school if the results might turn out to be unpopular at, or unfavorable to, the school. The story concludes:
The BSA officers, in the letter, ask
what "acknowledgement or intervention took place, in the best interests of
black students" by the university administration when the results of the
research were known.
They also extended "an invitation to the authors of this research to engage in
a dialogue that addresses our concerns about research's intent, methodology,
analysis and conclusion, in addition to its validity."
Again, the suggestion seems to be that somehow the administration should have intervened once the study's results were known, and that researchers need to have the right "intent."
Lest you think that this kind of mindset is peculiar to students, and that grownup faculty know better, take a look at this video. It's of a debate on affirmative action at Washington & Lee on the day of President Obama's inauguration. At about the 1:18:00 mark, the professor suggests that black out-of-wedlock birthrates should not be spoken about.
It is no coincidence, comrades, that lurking in the background at Duke, too, was the issue of affirmative action. The news story notes that the paper's findings suggest that "attempts to increase representation [of minorities] at elite universities through the use of affirmative action may come at a cost of perpetuating underrepresentation of blacks in the natural sciences and engineering." Worse, the paper was cited in the amicus brief filed this fall by Stuart Taylor and Richard Sander that makes that point in urging the Court to grant review in Fisher v. University of Texas, a challenge to that school's use of racial and ethnic preferences in undergraduate admissions. No wonder people are upset!


Comments (3)
The response of the black students at Duke is disappointing. They obviously do not know how to play the game.
The correct response is that this research is absolutely true and thereby shows the need for earlier intervention to help blacks become scientists and engineers. More money into early education, more funding of special high school programs and on and on.
Here's the rule for these clueless Duke students: every piece of information should become an argument for greater federal intervention and the spending of millions, if not billions.
Nobody will oppose that.
Posted by Robert Weissberg | January 18, 2012 9:48 AM
Posted on January 18, 2012 09:48
Good day!
Happy New Year!
Health, luck and love!
Posted by Nops | January 18, 2012 10:06 AM
Posted on January 18, 2012 10:06
Yes, some contentious pieces, but I generally agree with the author of the topic.
Posted by Rassa | January 18, 2012 2:04 PM
Posted on January 18, 2012 14:04