Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!sbcs!debray From: debray@sbcs.UUCP Newsgroups: net.flame,net.politics Subject: affirmative action Message-ID: <371@sbcs.UUCP> Date: Sat, 4-Jun-83 15:30:24 EDT Article-I.D.: sbcs.371 Posted: Sat Jun 4 15:30:24 1983 Date-Received: Mon, 6-Jun-83 22:28:18 EDT Lines: 22 Without taking sides in the lively debate on the Affirmative Action Program in net.flame (shouldn't we move it to net.politics, where it really belongs?), I'd like to ask a question: Whether or not AAP is good or bad, it is a fact that it requires that criteria other than purely academic/professional qualifications be used to determine one candidate's suitability for a position over another's. In theory, the program will be terminated when its goals have been met. However, from what I've experienced elsewhere (re: my earlier article on an AAP-like program in India), people being helped by such programs can very well become "addicted", and politicians may very well find such programs a convenient way of wooing voters from minority groups (not to mention the fact that terminating such programs might be seen as being politically dangerous!). Clearly, one would have to come up with objective criteria that would be able to demonstrate conclusively, and to everyone concerned, that the goals of AAP had/had not been achieved. My question is: can anyone suggest criteria that might be used? Saumya Debray SUNY at Stony Brook ...philabs!sbcs!debray