PLATFORM : No Meritocracy

Federal cutbacks in student aid, attacks on affirmative-action programs and the failure to adequately fund inner-city schools are all indicative of the Bush Administration’s refusal to ensure equal access to higher education. Such policies serve to legitimize the perception of many white students that African-American, Chicano or Latino students have not really “earned” the right to participate in higher education.

This message seems to underlie the racist attacks against minority students at our colleges and universities.

We need to recognize that our educational system is not a meritocracy. Special programs and incentives for minority students are no more unfair than the simple fact that some are born into opportunity, while others are born into despair. A strong message of recognition of this fact is needed from college presidents well as from the Bush Administration.