Blog #8

This is a picture that I choose to use in my final paper . It shows exactly how we react in a racially diverse campus. It also supports the idea of racial segregated student groups in colleges. In colleges groups such as Pakistani student association, Jewish Student association, Indian student association are also markers which reinforce the racial/religious and ethnic differences among college students. I have never seen a Muslim student joining Jewish group or vice versa. The former example is one example of a diverse college environment in which students tend to gather with those who are similar to them. Although this does not mean that students don't interact across their race or ethnic group . So the cartoon above shows and reinforces this view point. My paper will provide an insight to the extent to which this hypothesis is true.

Blog #7 Case

My topic for research paper is " The iceberg of racial diversity policies/environment at a college campus : benefits that come along with undercover deleterious consequences".

 The example or the chief case in my paper is Fisher Vs. University of Texas case. This is an ideal case, which is directly related to my research topic. It talks about the value and authenticity of consequences associated with racial diversity policy of affirmative action in US colleges and universities . This case is under it's final review process in the US Supreme court. It involves undergraduate student Abigail Fisher, who sued  University of Texas in 2008 because she was rejected admission to the University. She asks the court to declare the admissions policy inconsistent or to over rule it. There are two arguments regarding this case; one, that Fisher would have not been able to get admission because of her low academic performance at school even if the university didn't have any affirmative action policy. The other side argues that due to the affirmative action policy in Universities other people are suffering and there will be more people like Fisher who get rejected because of universities affirmative action policy. My paper will help to answer which side is more authentic and even if the affirmative action policy has benefits to the minority groups they also come along with consequences, and this case is one of the consequences of racial diverse policies in USA. Moreover, my research paper will magnify this issue and then give answers whether it is legitimate of overlook the consequences of the racial diversity policies at college campuses because of its benefits. The article that I am using for this case is by Susannah Pollvogt and it's details are given in my blog post #4.
                                         
                                                   Sources Sited

This is a you tube link on a discussion panel held by George Washington University.

Pollvogt, Susannah. Casting Shadows: Fisher V. University of Texas at Austin and the Misplaced fear of " Too Much" Diversity. Diss. University of Maryland School of Law, 2013. Web. <http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/endnotes/23/>.

Interview

I interviewed  Professor Alvin B. Tillery-CV (Assistant Professor and Undergraduate Vice Chair). He is a PhD from Harvard University, 2001 and BA., Morehouse College, 1993. I choose to interview him because his specialty is in American Politics, and he has done research in Identity Politics, History of American Political Thought and American Political Development. I had a telephone interview with Professor Tillery, his thoughts gave me the answer to my counter argument, that the benefits of a diverse college campus over weigh the consequences that come along with it. Moreover, he said that the people who are against campus policies of affirmative action, such as those in case of Fisher Vs. University of Texas case keep their stake/side for their own benefit. Furthermore, he explained that had it been an equal and balanced society then there would have been no talk about identity or race. His point of view suggests that affirmative action gives equal representation right to the minorities. Professor Tillery States: " In a country that is increasingly diverse, university education at top level is important for training of top leadership class, it can only make sense when those students reflect their ethnic, racial and religious diversity. Thats what elite universities are". He also states, "  Affirmative policies don't just help racial minorities they also help people across borders, e.g if you go to Berkeley, had it been a fully race neutral environment you would be in a class full of Asians".
Professor Tillery also states that the Fisher case makes no sense, because even if the university did not have an affirmative action policy Fisher still would not have been able to make it to the University of Texas because her SAT scores were low.


Tillery, Alvin : "Telephone Interview" 03/25/2013

Literature Review Blog #4

Casting Shadows: Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin and the Misplaced Fear of "Too Much" Diversity

This article is written by Susannah W. Pollvogt, she is an adjunct Professor and Bar exam consultant at University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. She was a staff attorney at Vermont Supreme court. In this article she talks about the current case of Fisher versus University of Texas. In this case the undergraduate student Abigail Fisher in 2008, asks that the court either declare the admission policy of university inconsistent with or entirely overrule the affirmative action policy. The term affirmative action in this context means considering race as an important factor in college admissions.The supreme court still has to give the final verdict on this case. Susannah talks about the relationship between remedial and educational excellence justifications for race-conscious admission decisions/policies. Remedial excellence means to help improve the historical racism, universities implement affirmative action; whereas, educational excellence justification means that universities implement affirmative action for the educational e=benefit of the students. Furthermore, Susannah also talks about the anxiety of the justices in the 5 th circuit about the excessive racial diversity. She quotes Justice Powell, who was the decision maker during Bakke case involving University of Michigan Law school. He states, ". . .Thus, in arguing that its universities must be accorded the right to select those students who will contribute the most to the “robust exchange of ideas,” petitioner invokes a countervailing constitutional interest, that of the First Amendment. In this light, petitioner must be viewed as seeking to achieve a goal that is of paramount importance in the fulfillment of its mission" (page 5).  So, by this Justice Powell justified the state interest in the law of affirmative action. Moreover he also states, " Academic freedom, though not a specifically enumerated constitutional right, long has been viewed as a special concern of the First Amendment. The freedom of a university to make its own judgments as to education includes the selection of its student body" (page 5 ). This quote also allows makes it legitimate for the universities to use affirmative action policy. Susannah also states, " Under an educational excellence justification ,by contrast, we would assume that schools are free to continuously reassess their diversity needs and refine their admissions policies to achieve optimal student-body compositions. And schools should be permitted to include consideration of race in this analysis , so long as race still "matters" as a part of identity" ( page 11). The author supports the justification for affirmative action policies at colleges on basis of educational excellence. She thinks that the court should decide on a decision that is for all times to come, for our pluralistic society, which would foster vibrant intellectual environment. This article relates to my topic because it talks about a case which is one of the challenges faced by a diverse student environment/policies at college campuses. This helps me to explore my research question to a greater extent, because while mentioning the Fisher case, it also talks about the importance of affirmative action policy in maintaining academic excellence in colleges. So it gives me another "so what" question, which is ; Does the benefits of racial diversity at college campuses overshadow/overrule it's side effects?

Pollvogt, Susannah. Casting Shadows: Fisher V. University of Texas at Austin and the Misplaced fear of " Too Much" Diversity. Diss. University of Maryland School of Law, 2013. Web. <http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/endnotes/23/>.

Literature Review Blog # 3

Race and Class Matters at an Elite College ( Book by 
Elizabeth Aries)









In this book Aries interviews students from different classes and social backgrounds, over a period of four years. She interviews them thrice, since their freshman year in college. The authors explains in this book that many students come from segregated communities, and have concepts of stereotypes, and these concepts come into play when they enter college and get a platform to interact with others.
She says that colleges can play a vital role in changing student's concepts about stereotypes. She provides a rare glimpse into the challenges faced by black and white college students. Aries chronicles what students learned from racial and class diversity-and what colleges might do to help their students learn more. Aries quotes sociologist Karabel, who states that ". . . the powers in higher education became to recognize that . . . taking strong measures to rectify racial injustice was not simply a moral imperative; it was also a matter of enlightened self-interest at a time when the existing order was under challenge"(chapter 1 page 2). here she talks about how universities were focused to increase diversity at their campuses for self-interest. She also states " The vastly increased diversity in race and class in the student body not only afforded opportunities for social mobility to underrepresented minorities and students with less financial means;it also had potential to increase student's understanding to those different to themselves and to challenge previous notions about race and class" (chapter 1 page 2). It means that when students from different backgrounds were admitted to colleges,they could be around people belonging from different races and form their  perceptions about this interactive experience . She also quotes Harvard social psychologist, who in his book,  " Prejudice (unless deeply rooted in the character structure of the individual) may be reduced by equal status contact between majority and minority groups in pursuit of common goals"chapter 1 page5). This also refers to as a solution to mend the gap between racism at college. Furthermore, Aries also states that " The social science literature suggests that people in an in-group (e.g., the majority) tend to see members of an out-group (e.g, the minority) as homogeneous and lacking in variability, while themselves as more heterogeneous. This sets stage for stereotyping"(chapter 1 page 5). I think it's an important quote for my research as it gives a reason for the concept of racism and stereotypes. People tend to have different thoughts for one's who are similar to them, than those who have a different race and class. So, we can say that "in group" and "out group" differences can be the cause of racism and stereotypes. This book is relevant to my research as it does not only provides theoretical concept or racism, stereotypes, it's effects and solutions, in fact it is written and based on the field experience online questionnaires and face-to-face interviews.

 Elizabeth, Aries. "Race and Class Matters at an Elite College." N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.
(It's a book so I am attaching a link for it's e book  version on google)

Literature Review Blog#2

Speaking of Race and Class: The Student Experience at an Elite College

(Book)
 This book is written by Elizabeth Aries and Richard Berman. In this book Aries Interviews 58 undergraduates  from class of 2009 at Amherst University. She interviewed the students since they were freshman and completed this study in four years. In the interviews the students express their experience and thinking about the role of racism and class-difference in college. She presents the student's personal perceptions of their experiences. The coauthor Richard Burmen extends the concept of racism by exploring the concepts of "Stereotypes", "Inter-racial dating" and the effects of racism and class on a student's social life.Moreover, the authors look at race and class as two independent variables rather than one concept. So, the authors use the concept of intersecting race and class to examine the experiences of poor whites to that of wealthy blacks. It gives a challenge to the universities to handle and manage formal and informal learning. Elizabeth Aries is a professor of psychology at Amherst University and she has a PhD from Harvard. The co-author Richard Burmen is an independent scholar and singer/songwriter. Hence, they collaborated to work on the role of race and class in colleges. Aries quotes Harvard University President, who states " In our world today, it is not enough for us and our students to acknowledge, in an abstract sense, that other kinds of people, with other modes of thought and feeling and action, exist somewhere. . ." (Chapter 1, page 2). This quote illustrates one of the importance or benefit of diversity at a campus, which is that students from different backgrounds get to interact with each other and change their perceptions about others . The author further quotes Emily a student, who states, " I kind of feel like i have been dropped on Mars. . . I mean, it's so different" ( Chapter 1,page 1).  It describes the feelings of students when they experience different races at their college campuses.The Harvard University President also says ". . . No formal academic study can replace continued association with others who are different from ourselves,and who challenge our preconceptions,prejudices,and assumptions, even as we challenge theirs." (chapter 1,page 2). This means that students can't change their perceptions about stereotypes and racism by studying , rather they need to experience it in their actual life. I think this book is also good for my topic as it describes the role of race and race talk at college.

Elizabeth, Aries, and Burmen Richard. "Speaking of Race and Class: The Student Experience at an Elite College [e book]." N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2013
(still have to get the e book version but i'm putting up a link to it's review)

Bibliography

                                                    Bibliography



1)Justin, Infinto. "Jane Elliot Meets Focault." Journal of Moral Education, n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013.

2) Elizabeth, Aries. "Race and Class Matters at an Elite College." N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013.

3) Elizabeth, Aries, and Burman Richard. "Speaking of Race and Class."N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013.

4) Hidden Transcripts by James C. Scott.N.p.,n.d,Web.5. Mar.2013

5)   Christiansen, Neil D, "Racism and social Judgment Process" N.p., n.d Web.5 Mar.2013

I still need to edit and recheck the links. I'll probably add more resources to it.

The Role of racism on student's academic performance Blog #1

My research would focus on the role of racism on college student's academic performance. It will also talk about the development of the concept of stereotypes in colleges. It will question whether racism is the major factor in determining a change in student's academic performance.I want to consider this topic, because I am interested in studying the effects of racism, especially on the intellectual and academic abilities.

Literature Blog #1

                             
            

"Jane Elliott, the American schoolmarm who would rid us of our racism"

  

This article is taken from the Guardian and is written by Andrew Anthony . Andrew Anthony is a journalist who has written for the Guardian since 1990s. He is also author of On Penalties (2000) and the Fall-Out(2007). In this article he has described Jane Elliot's Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes experiment. It talks about how within a short span of time Jane was able to turn innocent, loving kids into haters. He says it's hard to answer whether these anti-racist policies should be deployed or not. Moreover he Anthony talks about how the associated characteristics with the eye color effected the student's attitudes and their intellectual abilities. This experiment is done by Jane Elliot who is a well-know teacher ,lecturer and diversity trainer. She wanted to teach her classroom kids a lesson for their lifetime. Her experiment explains that racism plays a vital role in our academic performance. My research is about the role of racism in college, it also focuses on how racism impairs students intellectual abilities. Andrew quotes Jane Elliot,"Perception is everything", relates to the idea of stereotypes and how we attach meaning to skin colors. Jane Eliot states,"Racism is racism wherever you find it. White ignorance is the problem, and we white folks have now managed to export that problem all over the world." This supports the fact that the topic of racism is ignored and not given much attention. Even if it is given attention,nothing is done to eradicate it . Andrews question in this article is that is it possible to eradicate racism by analyzing Jane's experiment. This quote by Jane Elliot could explain one of the causes of racism in college , ""the main thing, white people are rapidly losing their numerical majority in the United States of America. And so people of colour are going to be the people in positions in power in the future. White people are finally beginning to realize that. Some of them are scared to death." So, the fear to be left behind is a reason for racism? i am also analyzing other scholarly articles on this topic. So far this is one explaining the detail of the study carried out by Jane .

Anthony, Andrew. "Jane Elliott, the American Schoolmarm Who Would Rid Us of Our Racism." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 17 Oct. 2009. Web. 02 Mar. 2013.