Are we "up" to discussing affirmative action? It is a difficult subject, because it concerns two different unjust situations. It is unjust that minorities have traditionally been kept out of higher education, and that many schools largely populated by minorities are below par. However, it is also unfair to the person who encounters "reverse discrimination" - who is better qualified than the minority person who "gets his slot."

Another wrinkle in the affirmative action debate, is what ends up happening in certain programs that have to aggessively recruit minority students? My husband majored in Forestry in the early 70's at Purdue University. Purdue finally found one token African American willing to major in Forestry. Despite the efforts of teachers and tutors, the poor young man couldn't pass his courses. (Forestry majors take a heavy dose of science classes.) I imagine something similar happens in other areas that have to aggressively recruit minorities with credentials that are not at the level of the rest of the student body.

Comments, anyone? Is this affirmative action helping anyone in these cases? I am in favor of giving people a chance to better themselves, but I wonder how far "out on a limb" should a college go?