Quote Originally Posted by wantboost
valid point for business. but not in medicine or law



i dont know about you but i would like the best quallified to get the spot in school they should go by scores only not on a quota. if someguy can weld better than me let him have the job. but if they are giving him the job because he is a certain race, well that is just wrong.
I agree with ya, but I believe the main point is opportunity! It's kinda like a chain reaction. If you stayed in the hood, chances are your parents lived in the hood and so on. That's already putting you at a disadvantage. Why? Because your school district is one of the worse in the city. What that = worst SAT's and ACT's scores, making you automatically under qualified. Making minorities fall further and further behind. This is very unfair to start out with. It's like starting a race already 20 laps down, with 50 laps to go.

I agree with you on the best qualifed person should get the job or get in the school, but test scores are not the only factor! Back in high school (if you already graduated), when the SAT scores came back wasn't there a person that got a score that made you say "How the hell did he/she get that damn high?" or that other person's score that made you say "I can't believe that person made that low!" Think about it now, would you want the first or second person operate on you if both were doctors from your personal experience with them.

Lastly, now days most jobs train on the site. A good example, is my past summer internship I worked (and still work for) USGS, United States Geological Survey. I was a mathematics and geology major (now I'm a mathematics and mech. engineer). There were only 3 people with degrees in geology working there. So I was like how the hell do you work in a field that you didn't even major in. It's because they are looking for other characteristics besides the "best" in that field. I know they could have hired many other geologist, but they didn't fit the description they wanted. People get hired based mostly on there work habitats, goals, communication skills, leadership skills, personality, and lastly their scores and G.P.A.. Think about it, with training anybody can basely do anything (to a certain degree). So now, even though I changed my major I got a guaranteed job when I finish my masters, because I have the characterisics they want!

Just think about it, you still have to be qualified to get the position, no matter what race. On paper you might be more qualifed, but that definitely does not make you the best candidate! I hate that people see affirmative action as just a quota.