[462] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Re: minority students at MIT lack motivation?? I think someone is smoking crack!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Laura G Dean)
Wed May 2 13:30:45 2001
Message-Id: <200105021728.NAA22500@ten-thousand-dollar-bill.mit.edu>
To: Nnennia Ejebe <nnennia@MIT.EDU>
cc: Jay P Muchnij <munch@MIT.EDU>, mit-talk@MIT.EDU
In-reply-to: Your message of "Wed, 02 May 2001 13:13:28 EDT."
<200105021714.NAA13763@melbourne-city-street.mit.edu>
Date: Wed, 02 May 2001 13:28:25 -0400
From: Laura G Dean <lgdean@MIT.EDU>
On Wed, 02 May 2001 13:13:28 EDT, Nnennia Ejebe wrote:
> So we were talking about affirmative action, and along the way this
> bizarre and tangential statement was written:
>
> Statement:
> **************************
> I'm certainly not in a position to state whether or not 85%
> of the people who apply to MIT can handle the load as it is now. That
> does beg the question of whether or not MIT *should* be an institution
> where 85% of the applicants can handle the load. I get the feeling that
> many of those arguing against affirmative action feel that it shouldn't
> be. (I know that there are professors who bitch about how the student
> body isn't what it was when it comes to drive and motivation, and blame
> this on the admissions office [aka Affirmative Action], deservedly or not.)
> *****************************
>
> My interpretation:
> Some professors believe that affirmative action is allowing unmotivated
> and undriven (is that a word?) minority students to come to MIT.
>
> I think someone has been smoking crack.
It may be possible that professors are willing to say things in Jay's
hearing that they wouldn't say to you. See Chris Rezek's recent post.
[Warning: meta-discussion follows; ignore if uninterested.]
> 3) Are you sure these "professors" are bitching about unmotivated
> students in general? or are they bitching because students are not
> particualrly interested in their line of work? I think you need to
These are good questions, but...
> seek rehab,
...this comment strikes me as completely uncalled-for.
There's been too much of it from too many people on this list.
There are more polite ways, for example: Jay, you seem to be
over-speculating about professors' opinions; please give more
detailed examples of what they've said on the topic.
Laura
emotion-free
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