The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, October 3, 1997 Page: 2 of 20
twenty pages : ill. ; page 19 x 15 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Admissions data shqws Rice must act quickly
to keep the diversity we already have.
The Admission Office announced this week that the number of
underrepresented minorities in this year's freshman class is 35 percent
below last year's total, a decline it links to the reduced amount of financial
aid Rice can now give based on racial criteria after the Hopwood vs.
University of Texas Imu> School decision.
While overall minority enrollment remained in proportion to last year's
enrollment rates, the composition of minority students changed radically:
The number of underrepresented minorities — blacks, native Americans
and Hispanics — fell from approximately 130 freshmen last year to 84 this
year. While the application and acceptance rates for this group resembled
those of previotft years, underrepresented minorities accepted Rice's offer
of admission much less. This is a trend we need to reverse.
Too often, debate about the Hopwood decision, and affirmative action in
general, degenerates into argument about the fairness of admitting "less-
qualified" minorities over "more-qualified" white applicants. Affirmative
action has never been about helping those who-are unqualified or
Underqualified, but about giving a boost to those who, if they underachieve
on benchmarks like standardized testfs, never jjenefited from equal oppor-
tunity in the first place.
If anything, the fiery debate over affirmative action shows that, in the
1990s, personal insecurity and racial conflict are expressed not openly, but
through impersonal political rhetoric. This week's events mean that we at
Rice need to determine exactly what value we place on living and being
educated in a racially and ethnically mixed community. While the issue of
equitable treatment of applicants and students is a valid one, it should not
bury discussion about the benefits of multiracial interaction.
As college students, we abandon the security of our families and homes
and thrust ourselves into a new, unknown environment. Unexpected,
enlightening experiences challenge our world view, show us different
approaches to life and even widen our understanding of humanity. No
affirmative action or admission policy can guarantee interracial interaction,
but without a racially and ethnically mixed student body, meeting people
with different backgrounds is almost impossible.
Hopwood, it is now apparent, will only exacerbate the traditional homo-
geneity of the Rice community. List year, underrepresented minorities
comprised 17.4 percent of the student body. But only 1.0 percent of this
year's freshman class are underrepresented minorities.
The Hopwood decision is a stumbling block in Rice's quest to increase
diversity. But it hardly ties our hands; The Admission Office and the Office
of Multicultural Affairs have already implemented several programs de-
. signed to better recruit minority students and better support.litem once
they enrofl, without violating Hopwood's restrictions. These include Vision
Week, a minority recruiting week similar to (>wl Weekend; Unity Through
Diversify Week; and financial assistance, tutoring and counseling.
But this year's numbers show that more needs to be done. With each
year that minority enrollment drops. Rice will only become less attractive
to prospective future minority students. We need to take a hard look at what
can be done, and soon. Small, private, formerly segregated, mostly-white
Southern colleges will not attract diversity with their tree-lined causeways,
but we might succeed with a firm commitment to diversity that pervades the
entire institution, not just the Admission and ()ffice of Multicultural Affairs.
Many universities require eoursework in gender, racial or ethnic stud-
ies, It Rice were to act likewise, the effect might well be increased student
awareness of the issues that confront minorities. Rice should make an effort
to recruit and promote more minority faculty members, who would both
enhance multicultural exposure on campus and show prospective minority
students that there is a place for them ;it Rice. Rice might also make more
tundinfjfavailable for events that-foster racial understanding, and might
invite more minority speaker to campus for lectures and special events*-
such as matriculation and commencement. International students make up
only L'.H percent of the student body, but the university could attract more
by increasing the number of educational exchanges and taking steps to
ease the often incomprehensible financial burden that American private
college tuition represents to foreign students,
The composition of this year's freshman class shows that Hopwood is
affecting Rice's ability to attract underrepresented minority students and
provide the best education possible. We can still enjoy that education, but
only by making sincere efforts at, all levels, to embrace and nurture
diversity.
tmmmmmmrnmmmAi—
Letter Policy
TO SUBMIT — letters may be sent in by ... * •
e-mail .thresher®rtce.edu
campus mail: Letter to the Editor, c/o The Rice Thresher
U.S. Mail:"Letter to the Editor, The Rice Thresher,
6100 Main St., MS-524, Houston, TX 77005-1892
in person: Thresher Office, Second Floor, Student Center
DEADLINE — Deadline for all letters is 5 p.m.. on Monday. Letters
received after the deadline are generally not considered for
publication until the following week.
RULES —
1 All letters must include your name, college, year of
graduation and phone number.
2. Short letters (200-500 words is a good guideline) have a better
chance of being published than long ones.
3. Letters received via campus or U.S. mail must be signed. If you
are not submitting via e-mail, we strongly recommend that you
submit letter #n a Macintosh onflfcM-formatted disk. «••*
4. We dcTnot accept anonymous letters, but names may be with-
held by request in special circumstances
ft: We reserve the right to edit for lengthy spelling, grammar
and style.
9-25-97
Letters to the Editor
To the editor:
Joseph Blocher does not mean to
sound heartless. Instead he sounds
brainless and/or terminally unat-
tached. I think that his article ("Long-
distances destroy relationships."
Sept, 26) was a cry for help in under-
standing why so many people par-
ticipate in this "fundamentally
wrong" activity. In his column, he
points out the obvious hardships in
a long-distance relationship. You
can't see or touch your loved one,
and doing so over tWe phone or com
purer is definitely not the same; how-
ever, Blocher's claim that one can't
"get to know" or "continue to know"
someone is completely off the mark.
There are several advantages of a
long-distance relationship.
I don't need to be near my boy-
friend to make my heart beat: I have
several pictures of him and my
memory is not so easily erased.
When we were together, we created
many memories, and I look forward
to making new ones. I miss holding
his hand, but when we do again, it
will be so much more meaningful.
Delayed gratification is quite worth
it. Any relationship centered around
lust is not a "relationship" at all.
Blocher mentioned that court-
ship would be completely lacking in
a long-distance relationship. In fact,
it is much more creative over long
distances. It has to be. Besides, din-
ner and a movie can become rather
mundane. One of the advantages to
being distanced is that I have no
excuso to procrastinate. There are
no distractions in the way of get ting
my work done. I still have friends
and find time to relax, but I don't end
up spending every night; with my
boyfriend. Now, this tloesn't mean
that this is "true love" or that he is
"the one." We are staying together
because we want to.
But the most amazing thing has
happened, and this is the point that
1 would most like to impress. Since
we have been apart, I have gotten to
know him on a much deeper level.
Because we are apart, we have to
talk. Talking can be very difficult,
exposing and intimate. It is not as if
we never talked before, but there
were always distractions, If a sensi-
tive issue came up, there were Ways
to change the topic. On the phone,
there is no getting out of the discus-
sion. I have learned so much about
myself, about him and about us, that
I can declare without a doubt that
this long-distance relationship is
worth it After all, communication
and understanding are the real cor
nerstones of a relationship.
Blocher's idea that, if things are
"meant to be" they will find a way of
"working out" is preposterous. Any-
thing worth anything takes hard
work -— whether It Is destined or
not. Thing's do not just happen. Dis-
tance should not be blamed for the
ruins of any relationship. As for trie
and my relationship, who is to say
whether or not it will work out, but 1
am having fun and enjoying it now
-s- even with the distance. I feel no
guilt or obligation. My boyfriend
doesn't force me to write or call, and
he doesn't need to. 1 do it of my own
free will. No matter how far apart we
are, he is always close to my heart.
liirisa J. Struble
Third year graduate, student
vShepherd School of Music
Action needed to create true equal opportunity
To the editor:
While reading Matthew Wylie's
(Hanszen, '2000) commentary ("Set-
asides degrade those they should
help," Sept. 26) on affirmative ac-
tion, 1 could not help but be reminded
of how closed-minded I once was
when 1 shared Wylie's viewpoint. In
fact, in my freshman year at Rice, I
too wrote a guest column for the
Thresher arguing against multi cul-
tural education and affirmative ac-
tion. It is from a more open-minded
and more experienced perspective,
however, that I write this letter.
Reading Wylie's proclamation
that "It makes no sense, after almost,
thirty years of civil rights law, to
continue to enforce 'equality' and
'diversity* with lower standards and
quotas for certain groups," I don't
hear a rallying cry for equal opportu-
nity. I hear those who have benefit-
ted from the current system whis-
pering their unspoken belief that
minorities can not compete.
1 agree with Wylie that, compared
to Anglo and Asian students, mi-
norities have lower accept ance rates
at institutions of higher education.
At the University of Texas School of
Law, the first class of law students
admitted pmt-Hopwood had only 26
Hispanic an<f four black students
out of 468 total students. From
Wylie's perspective, I can see why
he believes this to be "the best thing
that ever happened to minorities in
education jjrTexas."
I assert that minorities, as a class
of persons, have the same capabili-
ties and potentials needed t$ Suc-
ceed as any other persons. They are
neither genetically deficient nor in-
herently inferior. If you hflieve this
to be true, how do you reconcile the
equality of ability with the obvious
disparity in result?
Wylie's explanation, eerily simi-
lar to Professor Lino Graglia's own
comments, asserts that minorities
conscientiously decide not to
achieve; thPy opt instead to take the
seat at thl* back of the bus. 'This
explanation lacks merit. Humans
by nature are rational maximizers,
notminimizers. We have a desire to
want more for ourselves.
The existence of lower social,
economic, educational and political
opportunities for minorities results
not from some collective choice by
minorities to achieve less but, rather,
it stems from the fact that true equal-
ity in opportunity does not exist.
The over 200 years of active, violent
and legal discrimination against mi-
norities can not be undone by 30
years of nominal civil rights and
"equal opportunity." The statement
of those in power saying„"We're no
longer going to hold you down,"
does not suddenly increase minori-
ties' expectation of success when
they see so few similar faces as ten-
ured professors, as partners at law
firms and as fellow students.
Please do not say that yoti are
color blind if you use statistics and
abstract theories to prove your be-
lief in the inferiority of others. In
theory, no one in America is dis-
criminated against. In reality, the
vast majority of convicts sitting on
death row are blacks whose victims
were white. This condition exists
despite the claim that capital pun
SEE INEQUALITY PAGE 3
To the editor:
n7f! . * *
Thankyou t
that humorous
Chance
twoways,"
poaedletterwi0«pertect|
Ocheof ;"
written in just t
serious tone.
congratulate the letter's
anonymous author forhhi or
hef witty satire of an ^absurd
position.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Hardi, Joel & Siy, Angelique. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, October 3, 1997, newspaper, October 3, 1997; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246602/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.