Here's to affirmative action

The Supreme Court has ruled on the New Haven Firefighters case and perhaps now we can return to a time of reason. But we have a long way to go.

Affirmative action is alive a well. It is deeply entrenched in our society, to the point of being absurd.

For example, our local community college is greatly concerned about the "underserved" or "underrepresented" students, namely "minorities, women and persons with disabilities." Meetings and money are devoted to "outreach."

The goal is to have the college reflect the general demographics of the community...well, except they want extra "minorities, women and persons with disabilities."

Here are two charts that accompany a call for more Hispanic outreach for minority students and faculty.

On the far right (under the heading "District 509 %") is the make-up of the general population served by the community college. The other three columns show the race/ethnicity of the students each year.

One would conclude that we need to reach out to black and white students, but the college is actually reaching out to Latino students instead.

Here we have the percentage of new faculty hires from 2003 to 2005, compared to the general population.

A rational person would conclude that they aren't hiring enough whites. Blacks could use some emphasis as well. And yet the college is looking for more Hispanic teachers.

Meanwhile, Senator Dick Durbin continues to push his DREAM Act, making sure illegal aliens get their college education.

It really isn't a matter of fairness or statistical balance, it is postmodernism and it's crusade to kill western civilization. The Eurocentrists have had their day, preaching their "truth" to students.

The time has come for them to step aside and allow others to teach their "constructs" for a while.

In the news this week we have been given shocking details about the politically connected getting preferential treatment at Illinois universities.

Between minority outreach, Durbin's deportables, and the families of elected officials it seems impossible for a white kid with good grades to get into college these days.

Whenever Sotomayor talks of her preferential treatment as a student I picture in my mind's eye a white boy from Jersey with an A average who was bumped from Princeton so Sonya could be admitted. Where is he today? Perhaps he would be a better choice for the Supreme Court.

But in our day we have long since practiced Critical Legal Theory, the idea that the rule of law is less important than shifting the power to the underserved. They say the law cannot be neutral; it is colored with the wishes of those in power.

And Sotomayor is a firm believer that law is power and has been in the hands of white men far too long. And such an attitude leaves no room for the rule of law.