I must address two particularly harmful opinion articles that were recently published in your newspaper—Anna Williams' and ""Affirmative action undermines equality"" and ""Holistic admissions devalue academics."" There are some important facts that the author neglected to address.
There is no meritocracy in the United States. If there were, perhaps affirmative action would be unnecessary. Society both oppresses people of color and deprives them of privilege that white people receive. Affirmative action is one small, government-dictated privilege for people of color that white people do not receive, and unlike white privilege, it is not something that people of color can count on. It's a potential boost, but not a guarantee.
It is unfortunate that when people of color succeed, others judge them to have only succeeded because of affirmative action, but that does not mean that affirmative action is a harmful system. It does mean that more people in this university are racist than we, as well intentioned white people, care to admit. Refusing to acknowledge the oppression present in this system is only one step better than actively engaging in oppressive activities, but this is where many white people are in Wisconsin today: they think racism does not exist because they do not say or do anything that is blatantly racist.
Additionally, the holistic approach to admissions the University is taking is a step in the right direction. To use only academic criteria to determine the quality of a student is absolutely foolish because there are innumerable factors that can influence a student's success in school that have nothing to do with the student's abilities. Looking at the whole picture can help admissions better determine the work a student has had to put in during their life, not just in the classroom. While the legacy factor is undoubtedly in place to secure continued financial interest from alumni, I encourage the university to consider what ""legacy"" they are promoting: a past ridden with racism, sexism and classism. The administration at this university is doing better than they have before in trying to combat the racism that oppresses people of color every day. Their attempts to look at the whole picture should be applauded, at least for recognizing that meritocracy does not exist. I encourage everyone to continue to educate themselves about oppression, in the hopes that we, as a society, can begin to combat it.
A-—Stefanie A. Jones
Junior, UW-Madison
