Quote:
Originally posted by DeltAlum
So, the message that sends to me is, "Why try so hard in high school?"
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That's right, why bother? I worked my arse off in middle school and high school because everyone always told us that if we wanted to get college scholarships, we had to get good grades. So I did. I also joined a bunch of student groups whose meetings were often inconvenient for me since I lived out of town, but I did it because that was what I was "supposed" to do and I thought colleges would think it looked nice. Then on Senior Awards night, I watched all the locally-sponsored scholarships being given to kids whose parents had an "in" with the sponsoring groups, but I thought, "Ah, well, the colleges will give me money." Well...no. I got a full scholarship to a nearby small university (which probably isn't known outside this region), but all I got from the school I picked was a measly $500 a semester. I now know I was lucky to get that, but it was so disheartening to work and work and get my hopes up for THAT.
On this issue with 20 points given for a student's race, I don't think very highly of it. Why should skin color be a determining factor in how deserving a person is? That's crazy. I know we want everyone to be equal and all that, but it's not going to happen, and I think this sort of affirmative action is actually counterproductive to what we're trying to achieve. The focus should not be a person's race, but their merit (grades, accomplishments, etc.) with a little need-based assistance thrown in. Notice I said A LITTLE, not EXCLUSIVELY. Some people will say it's so easy for me to say this because I'm not a "minority," but everyone is entitled to his own opinion. I still don't like affirmative action, even though in some cases it could work to my "benefit," as I'm a girl. But I don't want handouts just because I do happen to be female, and I can't see why minorities would want the same. That's like telling someone, "Well, you aren't really qualified, but since your favorite color is green, we're giving you the scholarship/job/whatever."