Looking at the comments – before they were closed – one wonders how many New York Times readers need help with basic reading comprehension.
Ross Douthat nails it. With facts rather than speculation or supposition.
He discusses a recent study that demonstrates that college and university admissions policies favor black and Hispanic applicants. White and Asian applicants need better grades and scores to get in. Okay. I think we all knew that. And in a way I support that. Seriously.
But here is the kicker. The study found that not just any white applicants need better grades and scores. Downscale rural and working-class whites were most disadvantaged:
An upper-middle-class white applicant was three times more likely to be admitted than a lower-class white with similar qualifications.
Well maybe that has to do with money. Perhaps. But more than that:
While most extracurricular activities increase your odds of admission to an elite school, holding a leadership role or winning awards in organizations like high school R.O.T.C., 4-H clubs and Future Farmers of America actually works against your chances. Consciously or unconsciously, the gatekeepers of elite education seem to incline against candidates who seem too stereotypically rural or right-wing or “Red America.”
Now that is interesting.
This is why some of the people who left comments need to learn how to read.
“When Douthat made it about white Christian conservatives I stopped reading. It’s about class!”
“It’s not about race as Douthat says. It’s about class!”
Precisely. That is exactly what Douthat is getting at. It is about class. Rich and poor – with poor or working-class whites on the losing end. And it is about culture. Urban versus rural – with rural whites on the losing end.
This is what I have been observing and writing about. America is becoming increasingly divided. Not by race. So much as by class (and culture). City people looking down on country people. (In my opinion the single biggest divide. I will address this in future posts reflecting on the journey through China.) East and West coast versus the Midwest. North versus South. A couple nights ago I was chatting with some people online and a couple of them started trash talking “redneck yeehaws” in the Southeast. I was quite offended and pushed back.
It would be interesting to look at the data and compare rural African-American and Hispanic applicants. The results could undermine or reinforce Douthat’s points.
