LETTER: Minority life could be easy

Editor,

I’m responding to the letter “Would minority life be harder?” As a white American male, I would like to address the issue of how my life would be different if I were a minority. My initial reaction is that it would be worse, yet there are three ways in which minority life is much better. The first is being admitted into a college. At the University of Michigan, if you are a minority, you earn 20 points out of a possible 150 for being admitted. Minorities have a better chance of being accepted. The second issue is scholarships. I had a guaranteed scholarship if I were an Amerindian, but as a white male I didn’t get one. Minorities earn scholarships for racial and ethnic reasons. The third factor is being hired. At some jobs minorities have a higher chance of getting a job than a more qualified white American.

In my law class I heard about a white male who sued a company because they hired an unqualified minority instead of him. Companies fear that if they don’t hire enough minorities, they will be sued. A case in 1995 was Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena where a federal program required that 10 percent of contractors be minorities. The Supreme Court said that in order to justify the governments racial preferences there had to be a compelling reason. I would also like to comment on the College Republicans bake sale. I would like to commend the Republicans for showing how ridiculous affirmative action can be in the 21st century.

However, there are two concerns that I have with it. The first is that the Republicans copied the idea from a southern school, even using the exact prices; I think this college was in Texas. The second issue is that I read a student say the Republicans were mostly targeting the minorities. They should have been non-discriminatory in who they targeted, defeating the purpose of the bake sale.

Cory Hamblin