Derek realizes racial set-asides were declared invalid a few years ago, but says he finds it distressing that in a city that is now 50% minority - and a school district that is at least 70% black and Latino - the city's best high school only has a black and Latino census of about 15%. So he proposes some alternative solutions, including divvying up incoming classes by neighborhood or by socio-economic status.
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Latin Admissions
By Class of 1988
Fri, 08/26/2005 - 2:24am
I am a alum of BLS and I feel instead of lowering the standards to reach everyone, Latin should be a mark that everyone should strive for. I remember when I was in 6th grade and when I got home one day my Mom met me at the door with the acceptance letter. She had never been so excited. Latin School is about tough standards and challenging curriculum and I've seen first hand what it does to those who are not prepared. I had a good friend who couldn't hack it and it messed up his life for a good long time. Parents need to be made aware of BLS from the beginning as a standard to strive for for their children and do whatever they can to assist them towards that. Lowering the bar will cheapen the legacy of the alma mater
who said anything about lowering standards?
By Aqua
Sat, 08/27/2005 - 12:40am
Why do you assume standards would have to be lowered to increase the enrollment of minorities?
And Boston Latin's "tough standards" didn't do much for your english skills; "I am AN alum of BLS."
Quotas of any kind can
By L
Sat, 08/27/2005 - 11:03am
Quotas of any kind can reduce the standards. For example, a quota by neighborhood system might result in a kid from the South End being excluded because he was next on the list for his neighborhood, while a kid from the North End with poorer test scores gets in, because he made the cut for his neighborhood. Although I am generally supportive of affirmative action, I would not want to be the child with superior skills who gets left behind in favor of a less-accomplished child that fills a quota.
By all means, encourage minorities to enroll. Start an awareness campain; offer tutoring; anything that would encourage more people to value an education is fantastic. But be aware that quotas (of any kind, not just racial) can (and do) lower standards.
Yet another person who
By Aqua
Sat, 08/27/2005 - 2:05pm
Yet another person who doesn't understand how affirmative action works. It's not a competition between a less-qualified minority and a more qualified white male, though you assume so like many people do. It's between two equally qualified candidates, one a minority (racial minority or female), and one who is not. Review a few of the University of Michigan court cases for clarification.
Affirmative action also includes quotas for women. If you're female, it may have helped you get your job. If you're male, you may have lost out on a position because of it. Where's your eire over that?
Exactly. Call a spade a spade. Racism is racism, any way you slice it.
so why did black and Latino enrollment shrink?
By gld
Sat, 08/27/2005 - 10:39pm
Aqua, are you suggesting that black and Latino enrollment at Latin dropped because equally but not better qualified whites and Asians took their places after racial preferences were scrapped?