Thursday, September 11, 2008

"Fair is Fair!" So, what is Fair?

There was a protest on Monday at UCT, organized by the Freedom Forum Plus, against what they depicted as "racist admissions policy" at the UCT Med School. Here's the background. As part of the "Transformation" agenda, there has been an attempt to recognize the un-even playing field that exists for those who graduate high school. One aspect of this is the "affirmative action" policies that have been implemented in a variety of settings: government agencies, universities, and private industry. Last year, the UCT Med School approved a differentiated admissions policy for the class of 2009. They established different criteria for admissions for different groups of students. Everyone has to take the same admissions exam, but the bar is set at different levels for different groups. So:

-If you are white, you need a 91% to be admitted.
-If you are Indian, you need an 88% to be admitted.
-If you are coloured, you need a 78% to be admitted.
-If you are Black, you need a 74% to be admitted.

What do you think? Is this fair?

It wouild be hard to imagine that a policy like this could be implemented in the U.S., given all of our blurring of racial/ethnic lines (what if my mother is black and father is Indian?), our sense of living in a post-racial society, and our strong ideology of individual rights and individual achievement which reigns above all.

Well, a group called the "Freedom Front Plus" here in South Africa clearly feels the same way. Here is their web-site: http://www.vryheidsfront.co.za/index.asp?l=e. Their claim is that the policy is racist, discriminatory, and unconstitutional. The campus leader for the FF Plus, James Kemp is quoted as saying:

"it was ridiculous that years after the scrapping of laws on racial classification these types of practices were still allowed at public institutions."

On "Cape Talk 567AM" they were discussing this, and they had a spokesperson from the FF Plus. He reminded the listeners that the folks who will be taking the tests in 2008 have spent their entire schooling lives in the post-apartheid schools, and therefore, these kids should have no need for any sort of favoritism. It is his argument that they have not been the victims of apartheid policies or schooling, as they entered school post-1994, and so they should not be granted any advantage.

Well, listening to his arguments helped me feel even stronger that a differentiated set of admissions criteria is totally fair. Just check out the schools that Alex and Maya are going to (nice public schools that cost a bundle, and so they are very much out of reach for 95% of the population), and the schools in the townships. In fact, township schools are not only understaffed and overpopulated, but the very schools themselves are falling down, due to the vandalism that is taking place. One school had to be condemned, and the students had to have their classes on the grass because vandals had stolen the metal reinforcing bars that hold up the roof! Now, how how can we set one bar for all students when some students don't even have bars!

The inequality is so evident, you can't help but see why a differentiated admissions policy is the least that society can do, not to mention, supporting those kids once they get to University. In fact, that is the mission of the unit that I am affiliated with at UCT --The Center for Higher Education Development. Here is a piece from their mission statement:

"The Vision of the Centre for Higher Education Development is to be a cross-faculty unit that contributes to continual improvement in the quality of higher education through widening access, promoting excellence through equity, developing the curriculum in partnership with faculties, enhancing the competence of graduates by ensuring the provision of key skills and abilities, and enabling systemic improvement through the research-led development of informed policy options" ( http://www.ched.uct.ac.za/ ).

School-Ride Talks with Alex
So, Alex and I were talking about this the other day on the way to school. She asked, "But is that fair?" We thought about the white person who might have worked really hard and gotten an 88% on the exam. Not admitted; although that person would have been admitted if they were from any other group. How would it feel like to be that person? If I were that person, would I feel good about sacrificing my med school future for the good of a more equal society? I guess that's the core of the issue isn't it.

The next day, Alex told me that they were going to have to write an essay in Geography class on Affirmative Action. We talked some more about the complexities, and about the idea of who was ready to sacrifice their individual future for the good of society. I shared my sense of wanting to rather err on the side of social equity as opposed to rights of the individual. Not sure where she ultimately came down on the issue.

But, this feels like education to me!

Blog ya later.

Seth./.