More Immigrants Among Blacks at Colleges
Published: 4/30/07, 7:25 AM EDT
By CARA ANNA
NEW YORK (AP) - Something in the crowd made Shirley Wilcher wonder. As a
college graduate in the early 1970s, her black classmates were like
herself - born in the United States, to American parents. But at an
alumni reunion at Mount Holyoke College last year, she saw something
different and asked for admissions data to prove it.

"My suspicions were confirmed," said Wilcher, now the executive director
of the American Association for Affirmative Action. She found a rise in
the number of black students from Africa and the Caribbean, and a
downturn in admissions of native blacks like her.

A study released this year put numbers on the trend. Among students at
28 top U.S. universities, the representation of black students of first-
and second-generation immigrant origin (27 percent) was about twice
their representation in the national population of blacks their age (13
percent). Within the Ivy League, immigrant-origin students made up 41
percent of black freshmen.

Wilcher would like to know why. She asks if her cause has lost its way
on U.S. campuses, with the goal of correcting American racial injustices
replaced by a softer ideal of diversity - as if any black student will
do.

The study, published in the American Journal of Education, found no
definitive answer as to why the change is happening. However, "folks I
know personally who have worked in admissions have told me that they
weren't surprised," said Camille Charles, a University of Pennsylvania
professor who wrote the study with three Princeton University
professors.

The researchers looked at data from a national survey of 1,028 freshmen
at 28 top colleges and universities in 1999. The eight-year-old material
was used because it was specially designed to help find reasons for
underachievement by minorities at colleges and universities.

In terms of student background, it found few differences, noting only
that far more black immigrant students had fathers with college or
advanced degrees than did other black students.

But the authors suggested that the reason for high proportion of
immigrant students may lie in how the students are perceived.

"To white observers, black immigrants seem more polite, less hostile,
more solicitous, and 'easier to get along with,'" the study said.
"Native blacks are perceived in precisely the opposite fashion."

That idea immediately found detractors.

"I can't speak for white people, but that's crazy," said Adoma
Adjei-Brenyah, a Columbia University student with college-educated
parents from Ghana.

The director of public policy for the National Association for College
Admission Counseling agreed. "I reject the notion that admissions
officers are somehow deliberately doing this," David Hawkins said.

One legal expert explained the bump in black immigrants by saying that
now, decades since the civil rights movement's peak, college diversity
is aimed less at correcting American racial injustices and more at
creating a variety of perspectives on campus.

Besides, "how many colleges and universities are looking to stand up and
say, 'I'm continuing not to cure the problems of the past?'" said Arthur
Coleman, a lawyer who co-wrote "Admissions and Diversity After Michigan:
The Next Generation of Legal and Policy Issues."

Students agreed the subject of native vs. immigrant background remains
sensitive.

Last month, a Harvard Black Students Association message board asked,
"When we use the term 'black community,' who is included in this
description?" A lively debate ensued, with some posters complaining that
African students were getting an admissions boost without having faced
the historical suffering of U.S. blacks.

Jason Lee, the Harvard group's president, echoed another thought in the
discussion. "There's a historical sense that black Americans are
disrespected by immigrants," he said. "Parents don't want their kids to
play with them, don't want bad habits rubbing off on them. There's a bit
of tension there."

But Adjei-Brenyah, the president of the African Students Association at
Columbia, argued that drawing an admissions distinction based on
suffering under slavery is false. "If you're going to make a slavery
case, people from the Caribbean were also displaced and enslaved. How do
you begin to differentiate?" he said.

The issue of native vs. immigrant blacks took hold at Harvard in 2004,
when professors Henry Louis Gates and Lani Guinier pointed out at a
black alumni reunion that a majority of attendees were of African or
Caribbean origin. Gates and Guinier cited demographic information in the
"Black Guide to Life at Harvard," a survey of 70 percent of black
undergraduates published by the BSA.

In part because of the issue, native black alumni have distanced
themselves from Harvard, Lee said. That means fewer are conducting
admissions interviews with prospective American-born black students, Lee
said, so interviewers from other backgrounds, including immigrant
backgrounds, step in.

"I think in that situation, perceptions could come into play," Lee said.

The Harvard admissions office declined comment.

The second edition of the "Black Guide" is being prepared now, and Lee
expects another angry response - if the university releases the updated
information.

So far, he said, Lee said, it has not.

Interesting and very good research. I know if a latino wants to become a
LAWYER here in america the funding is fully paid by our tax dollars.
Nice to know hey?!

white 81.7%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1%,
native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2% (2003 est.)
note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US
Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American
descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin)
living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black,
Asian, etc.)


this is off the world fact sheet provided by the cia of all people, any
way, it is interesting when talking about race that certian groups
demand half , if whitey has ten coaches then they should as well, but
when they dont even make up the same amout or even close to half or hell
not even a quarter of the population seems like thats a little crazy,
thats the extra rights crap you might have heard me gripping about, no
one is entitled anything, period, if 81% verses 12% equals a fifty fifty
split then no wonder why our students are behind in education.


done venting



doc

This whole article is disapointing.

1. The study is done at Mount Holyoke. (Which my friend graduated from,
which is private and spendy without scholarships)

2. This article is racist itself. It seperates the students by race,
compares one "group" to another "group". For example: "Native blacks"
vs. "Black immigrant students" I think of the students from my college
as resident students, non-resident students, and transfer students. I am
a resident student because I reside in this state. Is it fair to call
me a "Native white person" in this case?

*It is backward to base the increase/decline of student population soley
on race, racism, and ethnic origin. We are ignoring the demographics of
the area. In the last 6 years college tuition has skyrocketed. If we
looked at the student body as a whole, perhaps we'd find some students
can not afford pricey private schools. A study should demonstrate how
economic changes, tuition costs, community changes affect all students.
When we continue segregate we are moving backward.

Barbiegirl, let me know where, i'm Puertorican, and even if i'm a
American Citizen, Have no help while in college all i have was my GI
Bill, No help at all. Havwe to pay for the whole thing, even in PR.


Izzy

Gracias Izzy,

I also wanted to know about this program, I'm also Puerto Rican and had
to pay for my education.

De Nada;

They're not a program for latinos, as she said, i have look for it
everywhere and we do have to pay for our education.




Izzy

I wish the government just handed out scholarships. Most public
universities have tuition reduction based upon FAFSA, which has nothing
to do with race. It is based upon whether you live alone, if you are a
dependent, or if you have dependents, and your household income. Other
scholarships are awarded on lengthy entrance essays, GPA, and the
students printed copy of academic transcripts.

Still wondering what this had to do with this article Barbie...no
offense...but did you read it?

Twilight, do you read, or just comment?

1. The study is done at Mount Holyoke. (Which my friend graduated from,
which is private and spendy without scholarships)



The researchers looked at data from a national survey of 1,028 freshmen
at 28 top colleges and universities in 1999. The eight-year-old material
was used because it was specially designed to help find reasons for
underachievement by minorities at colleges and universities

Also, not mentioned in this article. To gain entrance into a major
University applicants must score in the top 15% on SAT's. This is a
figure that is waived by affirmative action, because only about 1% of
the 15% are black Americans Black Americans. That means many whites and
Asians with better SAT scores are passed over in order to bring the
enrollment to an equal level, which is proportionate to the pop as a
whole. Ask Colin Powell he was a happy recipient to this affirmative
action, and proof that it worked. He is a great American!
It was a good policy because black Americans were not afforded equal
education in the 50's and 60's. Some argue it is unnecessary today,
Colin Powell amongst them, because now schools are desegregated. That's
what the Author means when she refers to when she was in school. The
point of the story is that it appears to the author who, (if you read
it), is black that now Universities are using this as a loop-hole to
allow Foreign blacks to attend (28 different) Universities in America.
Why, that's what she is trying to find out.
I think it is part of the forced globalization that large corporations
and our gov are forcing down our throats. You dont see it because you
are part of this newer generation that receives the propaganda teachings
so fluent in schools today. Evidence is the 2 other points you make, or
attempt to.

Quote:

De Nada;

They're not a program for latinos, as she said, i have look for it
everywhere and we do have to pay for our education.




Izzy
==================================================================

Izzy, I also wanted to point out that "there is no free ride" because of
ethnicity.

All throughout life, I just wanted to be judged by my merits, not
because of my race.

You're so right, many times i have been judge by my race, not for my
merits and may education, There is not a free ride and that is the way
it should be.



izzy

Also, I must add:

Scholarships are created by whatever organization or person with the
money to do so. Yes, you can find scholarships that only apply to
certain races or groups of people. Such as, many scholarships available
to blacks, native americans, decendents of veterens (VFW), sons of
norway, and single parents. If you had the money to do so you could
create a scholarship for people with purple hair, piercings, and
big-boned that are taking up agronomy!

As for government funding for schooling, the funds are extremely scarce.
There is assistance, in my state, but to qualify you must meet certain
requirements. The funding is givien through the state through job
service. It was created to help increase productive careers and educate
people. To meet the requirements you need to make less than $500 a
month, and work/or job search for a documented 32 hours a week. A full
time student, 12 credits or more, must work 16 hours a week minimum.
This funding ONLY applies to degrees & learning facilities of 2 years or
less. Applicants can not use the funds toward a 4 year under-grad
university, let alone an 8 year graduate school to become a LAWYER.

Persistent Racial Gap in SAT Scores Fuels Affirmative-Action Debate
If the 200-point disparity were closing, preferences in admissions would
enjoy more public support

By DOUGLAS LEDERMAN


Strip away the political posturing and the blistering rhetoric, and
what's left at the core of the "affirmative-action problem" in college
admissions is a simple fact: Black Americans, on average, score 200
points lower than whites on the SAT.





If the black-white gap in test scores did not exist, the controversy
over affirmative action in higher education would largely subside,
because admissions officers at selective colleges would no longer need
to engage in the politically explosive practice of admitting black
students with average SAT scores that are far below the average of their
white peers.

And without the gap, critics of affirmative action would not have such a
ready measure of what they say is clear evidence of discrimination
against white students.

The meaning of the gap is both exaggerated by critics of affirmative
action and understated by its supporters. The appearance of a large gap
between the scores of black and white students at a particular college
is not, by itself, proof that black applicants there are getting special
treatment, as foes of racial preferences often assert; because black
people on average score much lower on the SAT, sizable gaps exist even
at institutions that admit anyone who applies.

And while defenders of affirmative action are quick to dismiss the SAT
gap because they believe the test itself is biased against minority
students, most researchers reject such a view.

Just what the gap in black-white test scores does mean, and the
prospects for closing it, is the subject -- or subtext -- of a series of
books and articles published in recent months. The most prominent is The
Black-White Test Score Gap (Brookings Institution Press), a collection
edited by Christopher Jencks, the Harvard University sociologist, and
Meredith Phillips, an assistant professor of policy studies and
sociology at the University of California at Los Angeles.

The rough consensus that emerges from the new publications rejects both
the liberal view that test scores are meaningless because of test bias,
and the conservative thesis -- stated most provocatively in The Bell
Curve (1994) -- that intelligence is innate and that, therefore, nothing
can be done to close the gap.

From more or less the ideological center, the scholars attribute the
test-score gap to an array of factors, in two major categories:
schooling and culture. They suggest possible ways to narrow the gap:
Expand access to intensive preschool programs, improve the academic
preparation of teachers, and shrink class sizes. Get parents -- of all
races, but especially of black children -- to spend more time and energy
preparing the children to perform in school. Those and other steps, the
scholars argue, should close the gap -- eventually.

But even the most-hopeful observers acknowledge that doing so may take
at least a generation. What happens, in the meantime, to the
affirmative-action debate?

About that there is far less consensus, and far more pessimism. And none
of the answers are particularly appealing to all parties, or likely to
head off a rush to the courts by affirmative action's critics.

Just last week, for example, a white student at the University of Tulsa
sued the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for reverse
discrimination. The lawsuit charges that its Academic Scholars Program
allows black, Hispanic, and American Indian students to qualify for
scholarships with lower standardized-test scores than those required for
white and Asian-American students.

For decades, college officials have used the SAT and its cousin, the
ACT, as a primary way of assessing the academic quality of applicants.
Admissions officers at some colleges have come to rely quite heavily on
such standardized tests, to the dismay of critics who complain that the
tests do not accurately predict students' ability to do college-level
work.

Even the tests' makers, and their staunchest supporters, acknowledge
that the scores reflect only a small part of the factors that predict
freshman grades, and far less of what it takes to graduate from college.
But even with those limitations, the tests are better than any
alternatives so far identified by admissions officers, because they are
far more objective and uniformly administered and scored than measures
like high-school grades.

"Very few of their sorters make a huge difference, but among the few
things that do, SAT's represent a pretty decent share," says Thomas J.
Kane, a professor of government at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy
School of Government. "Institutions would hesitate to give that up."

The more weight a college puts on the SAT in admitting students,
however, the more it must compensate for the scoring gap between black
and white students.

That gap was as large as 260 points in 1976, when the College Board,
which administers the SAT, started keeping track of scores by race. It
fell below 200 points in 1988, and has hovered around 200 since then.

Researchers attribute the closing of the gap through the 1970s and 1980s
to an array of factors, including increased education of parents, school
desegregation in the South, and smaller class sizes.

Why the progress slowed over the last decade remains a puzzle. The
researchers' speculation focuses on the rise in school violence and on
what Ronald F. Ferguson, of Harvard's Kennedy School, characterizes as
"changes in black youth culture" -- including the growth of gangsta rap
-- that may discourage academic achievement.

The scholars propose many ways to close the gap, but most are
controversial in one way or another. A call for black parents to read
more to their young children, for example, will strike some people as
patronizing and racist. The recommendation that governments spend
significantly more money on schools with many disadvantaged students
will be "uncomfortable for a lot of citizens and politicians," says
David Grissmer, a researcher at the RAND Corporation, a think tank.

Harvard's Mr. Jencks, for one, is cautiously optimistic that the gap can
be closed, if "large numbers of black parents really believe that this
is important."

"It's my act of faith in the kind of society we live in that if people
come to see something as important, they'll want to do something about
it," he says.

Mr. Jencks and other scholars are far less hopeful that the gap can be
closed quickly enough to make the current battle over affirmative action
irrelevant.

"If we were watching a trend in which there was a steady convergence of
these scores, I think the political situation might be different," says
Mr. Jencks. "People might be willing to consider racial preferences to
be a temporary feature, as they did in the early 1970s, rather than
fearing that they'll be a permanent fixture of American life."

What fragile consensus exists among scholars over what the black-white
gap means and how it might be closed collapses when the talk turns to
the implications for affirmative action right now.

Some of the scholars side with advocates for minority students who say
that colleges should stop using the SAT, or at least should put less
weight on the tests, in admitting students.

"Much of the discussion presumes that tests are a very profound measure
of academic preparation, and can really predict how well people can do
in college," says Claude M. Steele, a psychology professor and chairman
of Stanford University's psychology department.

Depending too heavily on test scores in admissions is like picking the
members of a basketball team based mainly on their ability to shoot foul
shots, he says.

"You take note if a person hits 10 of 10 or zero of 10," says Mr.
Steele. "But if someone shoots 6 of 10, was he having a good day or a
terrible day? Did he have access to free-throw prep courses? Did he come
from a background that really values free-throw shooting?"

U.C.L.A.'s Ms. Phillips agrees that colleges just may not have looked
hard enough into alternative ways of measuring a student's academic
potential. "There might be two roads to the same outcome," she says. "If
there's an alternate path, we should try to find it."

Such talk troubles conservative scholars, who contend that any step away
from a reliance on test scores will mean an easing of standards.

"We must not throw this thermometer out just because we don't like the
temperature it's taking," says David Murray, a former academic who heads
the Statistical Assessment Service, a non-profit research group in
Washington.

If the courts continue to strike down the use of racial preferences, the
world will not end for minority students, Mr. Murray argues. "The
students who are denied at Berkeley will move down one notch, and their
kids will kick in the door and take Berkeley by storm, by academic
merit."

Ultimately, most of the scholars agree, the courts are more likely than
colleges to decide what to do about a problem that has vexed the nation
for more than two decades.

"I'm not sure that there is a way out," says Mr. Kane of Harvard. "Over
the last 25 years, colleges have worked out a compromise in their
admissions decisions, which weigh the goal of diversity and the goal of
maximizing academic performance, and other goals.

"I think we're just discovering that, as with most compromises, there
isn't an easy way to move away from that compromise without giving up on
one of our many competing goals."





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://chronicle.com
Section: Government & Politics
Page: A36

sorry to do that... but I have to go and you insist on keeping your eyes
closed....

Fanta's Quote:

""Twilight, do you read, or just comment?

1. The study is done at Mount Holyoke. (Which my friend graduated from,
which is private and spendy without scholarships)



The researchers looked at data from a national survey of 1,028 freshmen
at 28 top colleges and universities in 1999. The eight-year-old material
was used because it was specially designed to help find reasons for
underachievement by minorities at colleges and universities

Also, not mentioned in this article. To gain entrance into a major
University applicants must score in the top 15% on SAT's. This is a
figure that is waived by affirmative action, because only about 1% of
the 15% are black Americans Black Americans. That means many whites and
Asians with better SAT scores are passed over in order to bring the
enrollment to an equal level, which is proportionate to the pop as a
whole. Ask Colin Powell he was a happy recipient to this affirmative
action, and proof that it worked. He is a great American!
It was a good policy because black Americans were not afforded equal
education in the 50's and 60's. Some argue it is unnecessary today,
Colin Powell amongst them, because now schools are desegregated. That's
what the Author means when she refers to when she was in school. The
point of the story is that it appears to the author who, (if you read
it), is black that now Universities are using this as a loop-hole to
allow Foreign blacks to attend (28 different) Universities in America.
Why, that's what she is trying to find out.
I think it is part of the forced globalization that large corporations
and our gov are forcing down our throats. You dont see it because you
are part of this newer generation that receives the propaganda teachings
so fluent in schools today. Evidence is the 2 other points you make, or
attempt to.""


Yes, I did read the article you posted.***

More Immigrants Among Blacks at Colleges
Published: 4/30/07, 7:25 AM EDT
By CARA ANNA
NEW YORK (AP) - Something in the crowd made Shirley Wilcher wonder. As a
college graduate in the early 1970s, her black classmates were like
herself - born in the United States, to American parents. But at an
alumni reunion at Mount Holyoke College last year, she saw something
different and asked for admissions data to prove it.

"My suspicions were confirmed," said Wilcher, now the executive director
of the American Association for Affirmative Action. She found a rise in
the number of black students from Africa and the Caribbean, and a
downturn in admissions of native blacks like her.


***and this is what spurred the argument at hand. I did not undermind
you, but posted my opinion on the article you copy & pasted. It is my
own standpoint and did it non-biased manor. Please do not generalize my
thinking by associating me with a certain generation, class, gender or
stature. I will promise to do the same. Thank you.

What point are you trying to argue? I am well aware the differences
between the student population. Economics, poverty, grades/gpa, state
budgets, etc. We are in agreement. There is a problem. (Period)
Rationalization of races is not productive. It is not that one race is
more intelligent than another. Yes you can compare SAT, ACT, and GRE
scores but all that determines what areas are failing, and what
improvements we need to make as a whole to improve this nation's
education.

As for "opening my eyes"...("I am not young enough to know
everything."-Oscar Wilde) I do not know where you are coming from? We
are mostly in agreement; same book...not quite the same page.


"I am not young enough to know everything."-Oscar Wilde

I posted something and its gone..

I said I know you weren't trying to undermine me, but it seemed you were
assuming racism. I, and I think the Author is trying to find out why
legislation designed to afford Black Americans a step up to higher
education now seems to be used to afford foreign born blacks a step up
at the expense of Black Americans.

so you see I am not racist, I am concerned just like she is. I am not
afraid to talk about such issues because I am not racist.
I believe affirmative action was needed at the time and am not trying
attribute the fact that they have not benefited from it to anyone or
anything. But with the US and corporations trying to shove globalization
down our throats I am worried that they are using affirmative action to
benefit Africans over Americans..

Jeez Fanta, it's bad enough that we insist on separating blacks ,whites,
latinos, asians, etc. into categories, now we want blacks separated into
different categories according to whether they are "native" blacks or
1st or 2nd generation immigrants? No other group would dare try to get
away with this, or want to. Why don't we just all be people, and forget
about the labels. Isn't that what the dream was supposed to be all
about?

that's what who wants? are you trying to say we aren't separated by
nationalities? is our government and institutions supposed to support
the whole world, or is it just easier for you that way. I don't
understand you, we forced Black Americans into slavery for hundreds of
years and then forced a multitude of civil injustices upon them. We
didn't the Nigerians that live in Nigeria. doesn't that give Black
Americans a distinction, or should we make the same corrections to every
black man and woman on the globe. Hitler was white, should we hold every
white man accountable for the atrocities he did? Or is it that that
doesn't effect you, and that is why you keep crying racism every time
someone says something. Like I said those that use that argument use it
because they have no other defense or it hits too close to home. How
come the ones to throw out the race comments are always those with an
ulterior motive. I refuse to stoop to your level of throwing out race
for one reason, It doesnt apply, so bark up another tree. OK
Or as good friend of mine would say STFU!!!!