A group of University of California students have demanded that Sen. Dianne Feinstein lobby her husband, Richard Blum, a UC Regent, to oppose a recent proposal to increase the minimum GPA required for admission to the UC system.
Waving signs with slogans such as “GPA Means Give Public Access” and chanting “We’re not stupid, we’re not dumb, let us in Mr. Blum!” the group of about two dozen young people, mostly Latino or African-American, marched in a circle in front of the Post Street office building.
Last month, the Regents considered increasing the minimum GPA from 2.8 to 3.1. According to UC statistics, the higher GPA limit would reduce the total percentage of minorities eligible for UC from 18.8 percent to 17.5 percent.
I don’t have a position on whether or not UC should raise its admission requirements, but opposing such a raise because of the impact it would have on minorities reminds me of that old 1960s bumper sticker, “War is Not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things,” which in turn always suggested to me that feminist groups should oppose nuclear weapons because dropping one would have a disparate impact on women.
?…reminds me of that old 1960s bumper sticker, “War is Not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things,” which in turn always suggested to me that feminist groups should oppose nuclear weapons because dropping one would have a disparate impact on women.”
Not, alas, all that funny. After all, there’s a group called Physicians for Social Responsibility which claims special insight into weaponry issues because all-out nuclear war would present serious health problems.
If my views ran that way I’d start a group called “Baseball Fans for Social Responsibility,” asserting that we should be listened to because, after all, a nuclear attack on the United States would interfere with the American League schedule.
Then there could be “Realtors for Social Responsibility,” since atomic war would destroy a substantial amount of real estate.
The way the Red Sox are playing, perhaps a nulcear war adjusted schedule would help.
I’ve seen a number of stories saying that California is having serious difficulty accomodoting the number of students who qualify under current standards. They’re trying to encourage a number of students to go to community college instead. Raising standards (or better yet tuition) is the only reasonable way to deal with the problem.