Free college - for Abigail Fisher? Really?

[JustAnotherGen]

Posted in the African American Group

http://www.salon.com/2015/12/09/abigail_fisher_deserves_an_f_for_her_race_baiting_supreme_court_case_aimed_at_boosting_subpar_white_students/

At stake is the claim made by Abigail Fisher, now 25, who hails from a wealthy suburb of Houston called Sugar Land, that she was deprived of her rightful admission at UT Austin because, in her view, some person of color who didn’t deserve it stole it from her.

Throughout her now seven-year campaign to make the school pay for not letting her in, Fisher has never been able to produce any evidence that the school tossed her application to make room for a less qualified minority applicant. That’s because, as UT Austin has maintained throughout this ordeal, Fisher was never getting in to their school. Fisher’s GPA and SAT scores weren’t high enough, and she didn’t have enough external accomplishments to convince the school to give her a shot otherwise. As Pro Publica explained at the time:

It’s true that the university, for whatever reason, offered provisional admission to some students with lower test scores and grades than Fisher. Five of those students were black or Latino. Forty-two were white.

Neither Fisher nor Blum mentioned those 42 applicants in interviews. Nor did they acknowledge the 168 black and Latino students with grades as good as or better than Fisher’s who were also denied entry into the university that year.

So in GD I just responded to a post someone posted to LiberalStalwart about The Blacks and Free College.

This is my little rant -

This Free College? For everyone? You know - I don't think I should have to pay for this entitled little snot from a wealthy suburb of Houston who at minimum doesn't like "The Blacks" and at maximum is an entitled racist - to attend college.

Her mummy and daddy can pay for it or she can get a job and pay for it herself. She needs to stop wasting tax dollars on her frivolous lawsuit. She's already taken enough of my money with her unwarranted lawsuit - and until they can guarantee she"ll be locked out of access to the money -

Then I'm against it.

[bluestateguy]

1. That's how the policy would work

but some people here insist on making the false claims that all the rich kids go to private universities.

[JustAnotherGen]

2. They need to stop trying to trick me

This is a sucker punch and they know it! *hmph*

[sheshe2]

3. FFS!

Instead of telling her where to shove it, the Supreme Court sent Fisher’s case back to the appeals court. Now she and her lawyers are back again. This time, they’ve tweaked their argument a bit, trying to argue that diversity itself is an illegitimate goal for schools and, to add a bit of extra nastiness sauce to it, they’re claiming that diversity is bad for students of color.

In other words, Fisher and her lawyers are concern-trolling the Supreme Court.

Most of UT Austin’s admissions are on the basis of high school class standing — about 80 percent of its class in the year that Fisher applied. But the other 20 percent are determined in a holistic fashion, by looking at grades, extracurricular activities, test scores, writing samples, the usual stuff. Because of the school’s commitment to diversity, race and class background is also taken into consideration. Someone who shows potential but faced some obstacles gets a closer look than someone who hasn’t had similar obstacles.

When you read about this case, it quickly becomes self-evident why the admissions committee didn’t think Fisher had some hidden potential that wasn’t reflected in her grades. Fisher, however, has decided her unparalleled genius is going unnoticed because of the notorious racism against white people. But since that argument hasn’t gotten her very far, her lawyer, Edward Blum, is now trying a different tactic to argue that schools should admit mediocre white people over talented students of color: His claim is that giving students of color an opportunity somehow hurts them.

[qwlauren35]

4. My mom has similar feelings.

She is very stuck on idea of a "scholarship" and feels that free college means that everyone gets a scholarship. When I told her that everyone can get into community college, she seemed to bust a gut. I have been unable to convince her that schools can still be competitive in admissions while making college affordable for everyone, and FREE at the community college level.

I am scared at anyone who could want to pick and choose who gets free community college, or 4 year public university education. It's got to be across the board, like single payer, and then those who want to pay more go to top tier private schools, and those schools can offer scholarships as they choose.

It's important to separate tuition from admission.

However, I would bet that a LOT more people would go to college if it was free. People who CAN pass the admissions requirements, but didn't have the money.

[JustAnotherGen]

8. I wish someone would put that in their plan

Give details. Let middle class white Americans know loud and clear -

If your kid is a dullard,they don't get a spot over a bright black kid at MIT.

[JI7]

5. what an asshole

[muntrv]

6. Scalia gave aid and comfort to this jerk.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

7. Sugar Land? That's where Tom DeLay is from. Figures...

[randys1]

10. LOL - what a slimeball he is. Hysterical, that is.

[Recursion]

9. College is free in Germany, and very few people are allowed to go

And that's with Germany having the highest college completion rate in Europe (basically everybody who starts graduates barring some kind of catastrophe).

I'd be much more interested in working on a jobs policy that would stop companies requiring college degrees for jobs that don't absolutely need them (which is probably most of them).

[randys1]

11. I get the sentiment but disagree, and for the same reason we should not means test Soc Sec.

I would have a rather high bar for people getting free college, maybe similar to other countries that do it, not clear on the details.

No, not everybody, not every fool and time wasting asshole needs to go to college, but those who qualify, no matter their financial status, yes.

No matter how obnoxious, yes.

But i can see why someone like this fool, Fisher, could get people thinking that way.

The free college I would approve of would probably disqualify her.

[gollygee]

12. Why isn't this crap thrown out of court?

The problem with means testing is that not all adult children of wealthy parents are still supported by their parents.

She, however, should take her unqualified and unintelligent ass to community college where she belongs. And take a few courses in sociology, history, etc.