Editor,
I am writing in response to Scott Darnell’s column in the April 4 Lobo. I agree with Darnell’s sentiment.
I am part of a majority group — a heterosexual Anglo male, though I was born into the lower class. I knew that to ascend social class, I would have to do well in school and get a good education to get a good job.
But being born an Anglo male is something that I am constantly reminded I should eternally burn for, though I had no choice in the matter. As part of this group, I am expected to pay, both monetarily as a taxpayer and through unavailable opportunities, as part of society for things that I had no control over.
It is for this reason that I notice some of the same things going on in society that Darnell mentions. Members of groups that are considered minorities aren’t looking for equal treatment under the law; they are looking for special treatment. This special treatment comes at the cost of members of groups that are considered majorities. Just as the anti-war protesters are given special protection, so are racial minorities and homosexuals.
In reference to affirmative action, Darnell says, “ . . . to . . . enact other policies that separate and elevate minority opportunity above non-minorities is to create an environment that only divides the races further.” Replace “races” with “sexes” or “sexual orientations” and the sentiment remains the same.
We are trying to make up for past inequalities to pay for them now. If not for these policies, we wouldn’t be reminded that these differences exist.
Darnell also mentions how minority groups are allowed to create student unions based solely on race. If I were to create a student union based on race, I would be labeled a neo-Nazi and a racist.
The same goes for scholarships. A scholarship that is awarded based on race is OK as long as it isn’t meant for members of a majority group. In other words, a scholarship awarded to “white heterosexual males,” whether or not it required a 4.0 GPA, would be considered unfair and racist. But it’s perfectly OK to have a scholarship for homosexuals, as long as there isn’t a similar one for heterosexuals.
One argument I have heard as to why these policies are OK is that the majority group members are reaping the benefits of their ancestors’ actions. My parents make less than $20,000 a year and I rely on scholarships and loans to make it through college. There were many nights, even in recent memory, when I had to go to sleep hungry because there was no food in the fridge, though I’m sure most of us students have been on the mac and cheese/ramen noodles diet at some point.
What kind of benefits are those?
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Louis Herring
UNM student
