End of an Era

What does that have to do with my being a Pitt, rather than a Stanford, graduate?  Just this.  Without affirmative action, the children of poor, working-class, and even some middle-class families will be denied the full range of opportunities in higher education they might have otherwise had.

I fully believe SCOTUS was not trying to refuse anyone a fair chance or a more-nearly-level playing field.  Indeed, in a show of well-intentioned but convoluted logic, their premise was that affirmative action helps maintain prejudices against minorities.  But their decision will indeed deny folks not only a leg, but even just a toe, up.  Expect to see far fewer African-American, Latino, and other minority students enrolling in our colleges and universities in the weeks and months to come.

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Michele Petrovsky is the Webmaster at Tools4Change, Author of “Cathedral or Bazaar?  Fix Higher Education – Teach by the Seat of Your Pants ,”  “Donkey Dharma,” and “Quick Guide to Linux.” Petrovsky resides in Glen Mills, Pa.

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