I often find it comical how truly ignorant so many students here at Northwestern are. After browsing The Daily online (“Students rally for diversity” Oct. 14), I noticed several comments regarding affirmative action, the qualifications of minority students and, specifically in this case, black students at NU.
It is funny to me that whenever race is brought up at this university, specifically in the form of minority enrollment, it always goes back to affirmative action and qualifications – or should I say the lack thereof – among these students.
It truly saddens me that in 2008, the mentality that black students and other minority students are unqualified to attend a prestigious university still exists. SAT, AP, and even GPA scores are not the end-all, be-all indicators of whether a student is “qualified to attend a university.” Moreover, it is the application, extracurricular activities, after-school jobs, essays, family background, and other things that help an admissions office determine if this candidate regardless of his or her race is qualified to attend NU. In addition, one has to step outside this fallacy and realize that not all schools are created equal and that the education that one of my peers received at Andover will be superior to that which another peer received at an inner-city public school.
Affirmative action, which most people fail to realize, tries to take into account these lesser situations that numerous minorities come from.
To question the validity of another person’s acceptance and standing in this university is a slap in the face, not only to the administration but also to society as a whole. Have we really not come that far from the 1968 Bursar Takeover? Is this mentality of elitism something that is plaguing our student body today? If so, I am not sure if the “grand halls” of NU are right for me.
My other minority peers and I have more than proven ourselves with our GPAs here at NU, along with a backbreaking bundle of extracurricular activities that the average NU student probably could not handle. So the next time you feel the need to judge me and my minority peers on our qualifications, I believe you are the one who needs to reevaluate yourself and your current standing.
-MARCUS SHEPHARDCommunications sophomore Former president, Freshman Activities Board
