Thank you for your “debrief” on SFFA! It was very informative and instructive.
I’ve got so, so much to comment about but it would be far too onerous for me to write, or for anyone to read.
Being a retired professor, I’ve got so much to comment about your debrief.
Being a retired US Navy Intelligence Officer, I’ve got so many comments.
Being a father of a 14yo daughter who’s started navigating the college admissions process, I’ve got so many comments.
And, being an old school Black American, I’ve got so many comments.
I won’t bother you with so many comments/questions but I’ll just respectfully say this:
- “Measurability” is inherently and incredibly biased.
- Maybe the term “butterfly effect” should be replaced or complimented by the term “cumulative effects”? For example, what are the cumulative effects of the 1740-1830 US Anti-Literacy LAWS enacted against enslaved AND free black people?
- Won’t SFFA serve as the catalyst for knocking down a ‘domino line’ of colleges abolishing AA?
- Did SFFA pave the way for the Ivy League to become 60% or more comprised of students of Asian descent? What private and public organizations in society would be ok with that and which would not? Did SFFA show that our military academies would NOT be ok with a majority Asian-decent student body? If so, how can the SC and/or the academies justify that?
- Legacy admissions may stand in terms of the legalese of “measurability”, but clearly, legacy admissions should, once and for all, eliminate the common public argument that “every student should only get admitted based on their own merit.”
- Loved your statement “Smart isn’t always right”.
Those are great points, and I agree with many of your inquiries (and will start saying "cumulative effects" instead of buttery effects in this context--much more accurate!). On the question of whether SFFA paves the way for the Ivy League to become majority Asian Americans--I highly doubt that. Considerations of race still matter for admissions, and many colleges still want to have a diverse student body. They will now just have to figure out a new way of conducting admissions that does not involve the race checkbox but still address their goals of diversity (which may lead to, I worry, racial gamification). And interestingly, the Supreme Court decision excluded military academies from their decision, noting that military academies may have special considerations--so affirmative action programs can still be used for military academies.
Thanks for reading and for these thoughtful comments!
Ms. Xie,
Thank you for your “debrief” on SFFA! It was very informative and instructive.
I’ve got so, so much to comment about but it would be far too onerous for me to write, or for anyone to read.
Being a retired professor, I’ve got so much to comment about your debrief.
Being a retired US Navy Intelligence Officer, I’ve got so many comments.
Being a father of a 14yo daughter who’s started navigating the college admissions process, I’ve got so many comments.
And, being an old school Black American, I’ve got so many comments.
I won’t bother you with so many comments/questions but I’ll just respectfully say this:
- “Measurability” is inherently and incredibly biased.
- Maybe the term “butterfly effect” should be replaced or complimented by the term “cumulative effects”? For example, what are the cumulative effects of the 1740-1830 US Anti-Literacy LAWS enacted against enslaved AND free black people?
- Won’t SFFA serve as the catalyst for knocking down a ‘domino line’ of colleges abolishing AA?
- Did SFFA pave the way for the Ivy League to become 60% or more comprised of students of Asian descent? What private and public organizations in society would be ok with that and which would not? Did SFFA show that our military academies would NOT be ok with a majority Asian-decent student body? If so, how can the SC and/or the academies justify that?
- Legacy admissions may stand in terms of the legalese of “measurability”, but clearly, legacy admissions should, once and for all, eliminate the common public argument that “every student should only get admitted based on their own merit.”
- Loved your statement “Smart isn’t always right”.
Again, thank you for your SFFS Debrief.
Rudy Hightower, PhD
Lieutenant Commander (US Navy-retired)
Those are great points, and I agree with many of your inquiries (and will start saying "cumulative effects" instead of buttery effects in this context--much more accurate!). On the question of whether SFFA paves the way for the Ivy League to become majority Asian Americans--I highly doubt that. Considerations of race still matter for admissions, and many colleges still want to have a diverse student body. They will now just have to figure out a new way of conducting admissions that does not involve the race checkbox but still address their goals of diversity (which may lead to, I worry, racial gamification). And interestingly, the Supreme Court decision excluded military academies from their decision, noting that military academies may have special considerations--so affirmative action programs can still be used for military academies.
Thanks for reading and for these thoughtful comments!