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Ed. Note: In the
last issue of Insight, Dr. Hecht addressed the pervasiveness and the
effect of discrimination in our country and the lack of attention and
resources the problem has been receiving from the current administration.
In this, the second part of his address, he turned his attention to the
current criticism of affirmative action. Just two months soon after the
speech was delivered, the Supreme Court delivered a verdict in two
affirmative action cases which are discussed in the accompanying article.
American efforts to ensure equal opportunity have failed badly in another
respect and that is in affirmative action. As you know, the principle
behind affirmative action is that it is needed to counter the
disadvantages that have resulted from discrimination in the past. For
this reason, affirmative action has been practiced by many businesses,
schools and both public and private organizations -- and consistently
upheld by the courts. But in many situations the disadvantaged need more
than an open door; they also need a helping hand and, since that requires
money, there has been far too little of that.
Let me give
you a specific example or how effective affirmative action can be and
how we fail to take advantage of it. When my wife, Amy was the Dean of
the College of Allied Health Professions at Temple University a decade
ago, under her leadership the Department of Nursing received a federal
grant to provide the needed helping hand to 20 disadvantaged students a
year. The students in this program were those who, on the basis of grades
and test scores, would be expected to encounter serious difficulties if
they were enrolled, and normally would not have been admitted.
Yet, with a
helping hand that cost about $10,000 per student, these students matched
or exceeded the performance of all other nursing students. 35 percent
made the honor society and 95 percent passed their licensing exam on the
first try. When the program came up for renewal it was, of course,
approved but there was no money to fund the program and it died.
Sure there
was a significant cost. But the government quickly recovered these costs
because, instead of holding minimum wage jobs or being unemployed, the
program participants were paying taxes on earnings of $35,000 a year or
more. Another benefit was that they were helping to fill a nursing
shortage which threatens the lives of patients.
How do we
get support for this type of affirmative action? In my view, we should
view the stance by the Administration and conservative organizations that
race should not be a factor in college admissions as an opportunity.
Because of
its perception as being a program for minorities, affirmative action is
not getting the funding for such needs as early childhood education,
special tutoring, scholarship, mentoring, -- and housing counseling - to
make it the effective instrument it can be. However, if the goal of
affirmative action is changed to provide greater opportunities for all who
have been disadvantaged, it will garner far more political support. For
example, a recent poll showed that 65% of Americans approve of using
affirmative action based on income to give preferences. And our nation is
rich enough that such preferences can include not only opening doors, but
giving a helping hand.
But while
affirmative action should be based on being disadvantaged rather than on
race, race can still be a factor. As I said earlier, when members of a
group categorically encounter discrimination, they are disadvantaged.
Thus as long as there is significant discrimination, race would be a basis
for affirmative action.
That is the
beauty of what I am proposing. Most white Americans have little
understanding of the extent of discrimination or how damaging it is. This
strategy would bring it home because it ties ending racial preferences in
affirmative action, which most whites oppose, with ending discrimination.
And most
important, it provides a path to where we want to be: a color-blind
society with equal opportunity for all. I certainly share the dream of
Martin Luther King when he so eloquently stated that he wanted his
children to live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color
of their skin but by the content of their character.
Let me end
on a personal note. As I have grown older I have come to realize more and
more that what gives the most satisfaction in life is what one can do for
others and that the most important reward one can receive is the feeling
that one has about [oneself.] From my own experience I can say that your
support of the important work that HOME is doing will be something that
you will look back on with great pride and satisfaction in the years to
come. |
