In our 5th amendment; section 1:
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Sandel provokes the widely held topic leading to modern-today: affirmative action. Is it just?
Countering this claim is the number of for-profit collegiate institutions that are arising, today. Most notable are The University of Phoenix, ITT Technical Institute, The Art Institutes, Academy of Art -- with their commercials and advertisement that plaster webpages and televisions -- nationwide. Has society become intertwined with disrupted belief of the necessity obtaining a college degree?
There is also Harvard Extension School, which was founded on the belief of serving the educational needs of the greater community. Are there two realms in segregated disguise? Exclusive and lucrative side that brings prestige to the famed leading institution: Harvard, and the less idolized cousin, Harvard Extension School, whom focuses its attention on serving (educating) the greater community and beyond.
Doesn't it seem like many corporations of today, share the same setup? Bank of America, an influential Fortune 100 company, is attacked from all angles; from excessive debit card fees, unsavory sub-prime mortgage lending practices, to obnoxious annual executive bonuses. Yet, there is the acclimating Building for Opportunity program that sponsors community development, plaguing the 'like' buttons of Facebookers all over. In the umbrella of this BofA, it appears that affirmative action is in effect, pardoned, low-interest, long-term loans to serve the "Energy Efficiency" to areas with low-income families.
Must Bank of America have their charitable arm and marketing department present a shining light amongst themselves? Is there a certain image, they feel obligated to maintain?
This response can be furthered, with the rise non-profit collegiate institutions embarking on massive global fund-raising campaigns, collecting often billions -- many times triumphing the surrounding entities and businesses. You can see MBTA advertisements, in addition to those found in the Boston Metro newspaper, that feature accelerated tracks for degrees in Masters in Business Administration, or the handful of specialized degrees tailored for company men and women, as to an academic scholar. Suffolk, Northeastern, and Boston University are no strangers to marketing and tuition reimbursements.
Universities today hold more power than ever, and it doesn't seem to come to a standstill. Are we to believe affirmation is merely superficial and hollow? After all, institutions do offer honorary degrees to those dropped-out or never attended, much to those of such to the likes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Despite changing the paradigm of personal computing as we know it today, these technological pioneers did not completely endure the scholarly efforts in hardship of research and indoctrination, yet their offerings were distinct and warmly appreciated.
Is this the case for Harvard Extension School? Do we live in a society where we feel compelled to overshadow the unsavory things we do on a daily basis, with the presentation of doing good? Or are we misconstruing a questionable identity, which we allow entities and institutions to partake in a puppet theater of a "double-life"?
Perhaps, community engaged, Harvard Extension School, and community colleges are intrinsically more favorable to attend than Harvard College and typical baccalaureate institutions.
If promoting diversity is the objective, rather than selectively lowering standards to those of minority and disadvantaged backgrounds (and by omission, raising the standards for outsiders), shouldn't universities base their admission practices on pure merits? Meritocracies in baccalaureate institutions are commonly found all over the world. Chinese and Korean students place their child and adolescent-hood on preparing for their nation's college entrance exam. There are rarely second chances, and if ever, they are certainly hard to come by for the average family.
If we restrict the growing, influential and powerful collegiate institutions from making arbitrary discriminative admission decisions, in favor for one based purely on merits, do we, say that it's just to live in a world based on inherited, blessed advantages? Are these advantages just, for they were immorally accumulated? How do we reconcile and rekindle beyond the past endeavors and suffering, engrossed by our respective ancestors and heritage, in a balanced way? Is it ever possible without bias and contempt? Does this obstruct identifying the entirety of one's character, background, adversity, and potential?
Pre-Gamers
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