An unpublished paper from the economics department at Duke University has created a firestorm within the prestigious instituion's Black student body. The study alleges that Blacks disproportionally switch to what are considered "easier "majors. Two of the study’s authors claim less rigorous majors are largely responsible for why the grade-point averages of Black undergraduates ultimately mirror the GPAs of White students as they progressed through school, they also question studies that play down the academic difficulties initially experienced by those who benefit from race-conscious admission policies. Opponents of affirmative action submitted the paper in a brief to the US Supreme Court regarding an admission policy at the University of Texas. Naturally, Duke's Black students are seeing red.
News of the research initiated a backlash from the Black Student Alliance which rolled into more grievances about their overall treatment on campus. Professor Peter Arcidiacono who was also involved in the study spoke out on Tuesday to say the study had nothing to do with the work ethic of Black students. “Any African American student who is attending Duke would graduate from college with or without affirmative action. At issue is what major they will be graduating with,” he wrote. Upset students presented a Black Culture Initiative earlier this month and plan to sit down with the administration to discuss a resolution for their grievances.
If even a study author claims that Duke's Black students would graduate from college without affirmative action, how exactly does this report support an anti-affirmative action case? Is it just gonna be open season on Negroes forever, or is the race bating game just heating up due to the election? And can someone please explain to these White folks that it's years of proven discrimination-not Black laziness-that makes affirmative action so important?
