Joe Royzman, Period 7, 4/07/2023

 Joe Royzman, Period 7, 4/07/2023

Socio-political Consciousness

• What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

• How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

As a rising college student, it’s no surprise that I have qualms with university admissions processes and the price tags they set. It’s all anyone ever talks about these days. The admissions process brings up many questions of inequity, and if fairness actually exists within. Long story short, it doesn’t. 

With the presence of affirmative action, race becomes an inherent factor colleges use for decisions. From what I understand, universities have quotas: a certain amount of this gender, of this race, and for this major that they must meet. In other words, it’s much more complicated than simply: an applicant meets our qualifications = accept. The recent case hearing, Students v. Harvard, has shown a light onto race-based admissions where they argue that the process violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against Asian American students. Harvard seems to have the upper hand because they argue they are simply race-CONSCIOUS, not racially discriminatory. But it is unclear if this is truly the case, and if it is, is that still even “fair”? It’s somewhat true that Asian students must pile up their resumes and show far more outstanding standardized testing scores than minority groups do. Though I disagree with this, it’s true that something does need to be done to give less fortunate groups the same opportunities as the fortunate. 

The fact that legacy admissions exists and donation admissions unofficially exist angers me. Those fortunate to be born into the family of top school alumni… well their chances of admission are much higher from birth. That and rich kids. I can’t substantiate it, but I hear instances of students having an easier time being admitted into top schools when their families make contributions to the institution. At the end of the day, colleges (especially private ones) are businesses, and therefore seek monetary gain. Add it all up, and the process is inherently biased. 

I reflect on this process and I understand that inequity is inevitable. It’s something we learn to live with. Life just isn’t fair. I could complain all I want, but I should really appreciate what I’ve been fortunate enough to have instead. I come from a middle class white family lucky enough to be paying for my college education. I’m also fortunate enough to be attending my dream school, Boston University. I’ll still complain about the price we’re paying though. Is it worth it? Who knows. A key takeaway for me is that I just need to work harder. If I ever feel disadvantaged, I must remember I’m incredibly lucky for what I have. Then, use that as fuel to push to new heights. 

To conclude, the college admission process is one of the first “unfair” systems that I have been exposed to. My eyes have been peeled open. I’ve learned that there are so many students that are more qualified than me, work harder than me, and are luckier than I am; but there’s even more on the opposite side. So instead of making excuses, I will motivate myself to be better, faster, stronger, and smarter.