[{"msgID":"58","topic":"Affirmative Action","message":"While it is obviously important for a University to create a diverse incoming class to have a well-rounded group of students who can all learn from each other, gender and racial characteristics should not be the factor taken into account when deciding on applicants.  \/ Because elite universities now have acceptance rates in the single-digits, every spot counts. As a result, the spots should be based off of merit as students work so hard in the hopes of finding a good fit.  \/ As we have studied in management, it could be beneficial if those characteristics were removed when analyzing the data of an applicant. Instead, the grades and test scores should speak more for themselves to narrow down the pool as you are going for academics at the end of the day. At the same time, since there are just more qualified students now, the resume could have the name removed and be analyzed just off of extra-curricular experiences and accomplishments. Even through these, you can see the type of person and still be able to build a well-rounded class without using the demographic data to make decisions. As someone who went to an all-girls high school, we often were told that \"\"there's so many well-qualified female students out there that the University will accept less qualified males to keep a more even gender ratio.\"\" While having more of a balance does create a valuable dialogue, someone's gender should not be an out for them to have a less impressive resume and assume the spot of a more qualified female for the position.  \/ In a US News article, a college counselor said in regards to the imbalance, \"\"It's just not as popular for boys as it is for girls, which opens up a lot more opportunities for those boys. So would they have opportunities that perhaps the woman with the same statistics would not get into? Absolutely, and that's a reality of schools trying to balance genders within their environment,\"\" she says.","count":"5","completed":"5"},{"msgID":"347","topic":"Affirmative Action","message":"I feel that it would be unfair for university admissions to completely ignore race or gender during the process of admission. Although it may put some students at a disadvantage, I feel that it is necessary for universities to recognize people as unique. If colleges were to disregard these kinds of characteristics, they would be also turning a blind eye to the experiences and possibly the hardships that may have been a result of an applicant's background. While it may seem that some students receive special treatment due to race or gender. I think such allowances are typically justified given the fact that some people are naturally disadvantaged and require this slight boost to be put in the same playing field as most other applicants who have not had to deal with gender\/race oriented difficultly throughout their young lives. In my college application process I felt that some students got into schools that I did not because of a factor such as gender or race, but I understand the logic behind this and was not overly upset by such results. ","count":"5","completed":"5"},{"msgID":"256","topic":"Affirmative Action","message":"I believe that university admission should not take into account gender or racial characteristics of the student applying, as it is unfair to some students because these are characteristics which they have no control over. If these students have no control over what gender and race they are born with, then rewarding\/punishing students because they come from a certain demographic group is unfair to everyone. It is much more important to take into their social economic background, their personal experiences, academic performance, and extra-circulars. ","count":"5","completed":"5"},{"msgID":"416","topic":"Affirmative Action","message":"When applying to Universities, since I am from the united states and panama, I had to choose which nationality to pick when applying and that felt wrong. If I said I was from the united states I had a higher chance of entering because it made the paper work easier, but if I said i was from panama, i also had a higher chance of entering because universities seek diversity.  \/  \/ Universities should pick students based on their personalities, fit with the university, intelligence and need to be in the university, rather than nationality, gender, religious orientation or race. Education should not be part of racism or any other form of discrimination.  \/  \/ I know universities have their own agendas and are businesses whether we want to see it or not, but i truly disagree with the way they choose who attends their educational facilities and who doesn't. It is honestly disappointing. ","count":"5","completed":"4"}]