This past Saturday I was at the Edge discussing my summer plans with one of my international friends. While telling me about his upcoming internship at Google, Eric made a passing joke about how he felt undeserving of the offer because he had received it through Google's diversity recruitment. He had tried to come off as nonchalant, and though I was deeply troubled by his comment I played along, promising myself that I’d respond fully to him later. And here’s my response.
Eric’s words reminded me of a viral Wall Street Journal op-ed from a couple years ago written by the disgruntled high school senior Suzy Weiss, who saucily argued that the university admissions mantra of “be yourself” was misleading and applicable only for those who had “nine extracurriculars, three varsity sports and two moms”. Had she known better, Weiss proclaims, she would have readily misrepresented her ethnic status and “happily come out of [any closet]” that she was shown to.
While her piece can be construed as satire—and we should probably for our own sakes take it as such—it hints at underlying social prejudices that need to be brought into the forefront.
Now, I don’t want to beat a dead horse, as there have been numerous critical responses to her article, but I want to take the space here to stress that this specific form of stigma against minorities is still very much at large and still hurting people beneath the surface.
Hardly a shocker, but the fact is that, still, in 2015, despite government policy and changing social norms, the institutional mechanisms in place favour a certain race and associated socioeconomic status. White privilege, often the brunt of jokes today, is still very real.
Weiss’s piece feeds into the prevalent pigeonholing of the admissions and employment processes into a checklist of external factors like immigrant status, race and sexuality—and it saddens me to see that the very people whom these affirmative action-like policies are supposed to help have internalized the oversimplified rhetoric that perhaps they ‘had it too easy’. Instead of being refreshing, honest or remotely amusing, assumptions made by those like Weiss are disrespectful and dehumanizing, and painfully feed into the inferiority complexes of perfectly deserving people.
Many of us would probably read Weiss’s article and nod in assent, and in the back of our minds harbour a tiny resentment for my soon-to-be-Google-intern-friend. I often hear offhanded comments from my usually-politically correct friends at Duke that belittle the achievements of minority peers, claiming “oh, they got that position because they were [insert some minority factor]”. It’s shocking what people will say when policies adjusting for social inequities affect them first-hand—even taking into consideration the cutthroat recruitment climate that we are relentlessly sucked into every spring.
Often the judgements are subtle, and most of us probably don’t even realize we’re making them. All I’m asking is that the next time you adopt a dismissive attitude, consider the realities of the struggles of those who are consistently marginalized. Put yourself in their shoes, and picture yourself as black, gay or Native American. Members of minorities grew up involuntarily subject to the factors that make them distinct. No, Jerry didn’t get the position “just because” his father was a Pacific Islander. Eric didn’t get the Google stint “just because” he was openly gay. I obviously can’t speak to all—and I’m not saying that those in the privileged majority have it all sunshine-and-daisies—but many minority members carry significant burdens growing up, and if they’re successful, they became so despite certain circumstance.
Taking it close to home, there are only three full-ride scholarship programs at Duke that are purely merit-based, and instinctually most of us would view merit scholarship programs reserved for those who qualify for financial aid as somewhat “less”.
I myself belong to one that is partly need-based, and like Eric, I started off feeling slightly lesser than fellow recipients because of my financial background. I hesitate to even use myself as an example, as I know several others who come from truly incredible backgrounds, and who made it to Duke despite having all cards of life stacked against them. They are deserving of their place, and should never feel in one moment inferior because of circumstances they could not control.
I’ve never claimed to be an advocate for affirmative action—at least, not the way it’s currently being implemented. I frankly don’t know enough about it to have an informed opinion on it. Despite this, I recognize the importance of accounting for social discrepancies. I urge universities and companies to continue to take into account socioeconomic factors on a case-by-case basis during admissions processes, and I urge all of us to help perpetuate an environment in which those who rightly benefit from such policies do not feel any less than their peers. After all, the slight bump only gets you through the door—it is ultimately up to us to prove our competence.
And that, Eric, is my full, honest response.
Bochen Han is a Trinity sophomore. Her column runs every other Monday.
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