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February 22, 2005
Letter to the Editor: Different races should follow the Golden Rule
I was shocked and perplexed to see the letter to the editor last week entitled “A charge for Hamline to live up to diversity vision.” Now, I am not ignorant of Hamline’s push for diversity, nor do I oppose equal opportunity for all people, regardless of any personal factors. That said, I think some of the proposals for white people to follow, taken to the limits, are a promotion of reverse racism.
Angela, the author of the letter, pushed for white people to always be aware they are white and to step out of their comfort zones and not expect people of color to be the teachers. At the same time, her advice for people of color is to work for yourself so things can be accomplished, and to give a little to receive a lot in return. What happened to just following the Golden Rule and treating each person as you would want to be treated? Why must we say that white people have to do this and people of color have to do that?
I completely understand what Angela means when discussing that students want to see a professor who
is like them, who they can relate to. Hamline has students from many different countries representing all different areas of the world. It would be great to have professors representing all these countries as well, but the reality of the situation is that that would be very difficult to attain. Our student body consists of less than 2,000 people, and faculty makes up a much smaller number than that.
The ideal of professor diversity is similar to the process of affirmative action. Affirmative action is, again, something that is good in theory, but promotes reverse racism. At some colleges, students would receive 10 extra points if, under race, they checked something other than “white.” This is ridiculous. If white people received 10 extra points for being white, there would be an uproar. If something is not acceptable for one race, it cannot be acceptable for another race. Race should not even be required on a college application, because it is irrelevant to whether or not you should be admitted. I have no problem being beat out by someone, but if I didn’t get into my top college because it needed to fill its racial quota, then that is a clear problem with the system.
This same principle can be used for feminism. I would consider myself a feminist, though I do not think women are better than men. I think they are equal in most respects, but, as with race, I celebrate our differences. I am the first to admit that there are some things men are better at than women, and vice versa. And when I get into the workplace, I would never want to get a job just because I am a woman. The pride that I would have if I had earned the job would be entirely lost.
What we need to do is all live by the same basic principles. There is no harm in realizing people’s racial and ethnic differences, but these differences should be celebrated, not used to make any group better than another. In every case, the best candidate has to win. I am excited that our university’s president is a female, but also proud that she was the best candidate for the position.
Jenna Witt
CLA Sophomore
Posted by msveum at February 22, 2005 04:50 PM
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