Column Liberal Voice

Author: Laura Kelly

The claim that Middlebury College is admitting academically unqualified students to create a more racially diverse community is unfounded. Prospective students must satisfy an academic standard before they are accepted to Middlebury. In addition to academics, the College takes student talents, experiences, achievements and diversity into consideration in order to form a well rounded and dynamic student body.
With the increasing amount of applicants to Middlebury in recent years, the College is able to be more selective in its choices. As a result, educational standards have risen -- not lowered -- while affirmative action has been in place.
Middlebury College "seeks to maintain a diverse community committed to broadened educational opportunities within an atmosphere of respect for others" (Middlebury College Handbook). Diversity, in its broader sense, includes gender, class, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion and sexual orientation. Race should be considered, among other factors, in the admissions process since a multifaceted environment is so valuable for students.
We should embrace individualism, and appreciate the plethora of components that people bring to our community. Different cultural and racial backgrounds allow students to partake in more engaging debates and experience a greater variety of viewpoints. Homogeneity should not be our primary focus in finding "a select group of educated and intelligent students."
Students from disadvantaged areas, regardless of race, cannot compete on a level playing field with students who have greater resources. No one is giving these students a free ride to a prestigious college. Affirmative action is a step to reverse the oppression of economic and racial minorities.
The College applies this same logic in giving favor to applicants who are the first student in his family to attend college. Affirmative action offers these minority students more than just an education. It gives them a chance to make connections, receive higher paying jobs and have access to a better lifestyle.
When race becomes merely an element of culture rather than a source of social and economic stratification in society, the necessity for affirmative action will no longer exist. However, until that society is established, affirmative action has a valuable place in the admission process of Middlebury College.
I strongly believe the benefits of affirmative action continue to outweigh its' inequities, both real and perceived. Amber Hillman's Conservative Voice column, published in the Feb. 26 issue of The Middlebury Campus, takes a narrow perspective in examining this subject. Although I believe everyone has a right to voice ther opinion, her article was unnecessarily condescending towards minority students at Middlebury.

Laura Kelly is a first-year from Suffern, New York.