'Racial diversity does not
create diversity of opinion'
Monday April 30, 2001-- The Michigan Daily - 5
Feeling like a Natural Woman: The case for Mr: France
On March 29, 2001, after a
federal district judge in
Detroit declared unconstitu-
tional the use of racial preferences
in admissions to the law school of
,the University, President Lee
Bollinger decried the court's deci-
sion as "an American tragedy."
It is a far greater tragedy that the
President of the University of
Michigan advocates racial discrimi-
nation in the evaluation of appli-
cants to the law school and to every
other division of the University.
One can infer from Bollinger's
support for racial preferences that
he actually believes that white and
Asian-American applicants who are
rejected because of the skin color
are not entitled to equal protection
under the law. In fact, he seems
oblivious to the injury these appli-
cants have suffered because of an
external characteristic they cannot
change.
Racial preferences are inherently
discriminatory. For every black
applicant who is admitted to univer-
sities on the basis of race, there is
another applicant like the plaintiff
in the case, Barbara Grutfer, who is
white, who is rejected on the basis
of race.
Racial preferences hurt people.
Sometimes they hurt people badly.
Bollinger and nearly every other
university president around the
country defend racial preferences
on the grounds that they are neces-
sary to achieve "diversity," which,
in the absence of credible evidence,
they claim enhances student learn-
ing. But these same university pres-
idents don't give preference in
either student admissions or faculty
hiring to applicants who are conser-
vative or Republican, both of which
are woefully underrepresented on
college campuses. Surely their pres-
ence in numbers approximating
their percentage of the general pop-
ulation would diversify the intellec-
tual climate at universities far more
than the recruitment of students
who are told on their arrival on
campus that American society is
irredeemably racist and sexist and
that those of them who are white are
oppressors of those who are black.
The dirty secret in academia is
that advocates of "diversity" really
don't want intellectual diversity at
all. Instead, they seek a student
body and faculty that is racially het-
erogeneous but on political issues
believes the same things, including
and especially that racial prefer-
ences and racial diversity are social-
ly useful and morally just.
By itself. racial diversity does noct
create diversity of opinion.
Contrary to what the mavens of
diversity assume, black Americans
do not think the same things, nor do
they think what they think because
of their race. There is no distinctive-
ly "black" perspective on
Darwinian evolution, the origins of
the universe, euthanasia, animal-
rights, capital punishment, global
warming, and other issues discussed
in universities. Nor is there any uni-
formly or uniquely black position
on preferences themselves. In
California fully one-fourth of the
black electorate there voted to ban
them in 1996.
Given the undeniable cost that
Bollinger's fraudulent "diversity"
exacts on white and Asian-
American applicants to his universi-
ty who are rejected because of their
race, one wonders why, in the name
of fairness, Bollinger hasn't
resigned from his position as
President so that the University can
replace him with a member of an
"underrepresented" minority.
Shouldn't there be "diversity" in.a
the Presidency of the University of
Michigan as well as in its faculty
and student body?
Perhaps it is churlish to expect
academics - university presidents
in particular - to practice what
they preach. But it would be
refreshing if at least a few had the
courage and integrity to endure the
hardships they so blithely inflict on
others.
Regrettably, these university pres-
idents and their allies in the media
and elsewhere may succeed in post-
poning the day when racial prefer-
ences are finally gone. In the end,
however, racial preferences will be
abolished. Racial preferences con-
tradict the plain language of the
1964 Civil Rights Act. They are
contrary to fundamental concepts of
fairness and justice that have been
an integral part of Western
Civilization since the
Enlightenment. The American peo-
ple disapprove of them overwhelm-
ingly. Eventually, America will
redeem the noble vision of the orig-
inal civil rights movement as a place
where everyone enjoys the dignity
to which all human beings are enti-
tled, where individuals are judged
without regard to their race and eth-
nicity and where a person's unique-
ness is acknowledged as having
nothing to do with his membership
in any larger collective entity or
group.
No amount of posturing about the
benefits of "diversity" can prevent
this,
- Jay Ber gman.
Professor of hssoy,
Central Connecticut
State University
A s a card-carrying
member of The Press,
it is my responsibility
to keep abreast of current
events. When I am not busy
writing hard-hitting commen-
taries or asking the Tough
Questions, I am dutifully
immersed in prestigious news
publications, trying to absorb
the Facts through osmosis.
Every once in a while, my
quest for knowledge leads me
to a story so compelling that I
can't help but write a column
about it. Late last week, I was
graced with such an opportu-
nity.
I am referring, of course,
to the torrent of rumors
alleging that Miss Universe
contestant Elodie Gossuin
(a.k.a. Miss France) was
actually a man.
Now, I know what you're
thinking. You're thinking:
"Beauty pageants? But
Aubrey, aren't there more
pressing global issues - such
as mad cow disease - that are
more deserving of your atten-
tion?" Ordinarily, I would
agree with you. Few things are
less deserving of my 3,500
characters than a bunch of
heavily primped, glittery beau-
ty queens with visible abdomi-
nal muscles parading around touted as a beacon of female
for the enjoyment of adoles- beauty. Several years ago, a
cent males and of the perverts transsexual won such a con-
who took video cameras to the test in Asia, prompting the
Naked Mile, but this story was paranoid Miss Universe
just too good to pass folks to require
up. that their contes-
The rumor mill sup- tants be "female
posedly started spin- citizens" of their
ning on the Internet respective coun-
when a French web- tries. The
site claimed that Gossuin scare
Gossuin was born a has resulted in
biological male. At even more specif-
this point, tabloid {$i terminology:
writers all over the "natural born
world began wetting AUBREY women."
themselves with HENRETTY But not just
excitement and des- R any woman can
perately searching for be a Naturally
confirmation. And when I say Beautiful woman, but there
considered attractive?
THEY'RE EYEBROWS!
Honestly, if you're seriously
considering eyebrow reduc-
tion procedures, you've
gone too far. What's next? If
something isn't done, in a
few years it will be standard
procedure for contestants to
rip off every one of their
fingernails before compet-
ing. Can somebody please
pass the pliers?
The Miss Universe people
(not to mention pageant
owners everywhere) should
be grateful that ANYONE is
willing to make him or her-
self look like a "beauty
queen." They can't afford to
picky about trivial things
like biological sex, especial-
ly now that we have profes-
sional women's sports, Old
Navy and king size Snickers
bars.
If Gossuin doesn't get the
crown, she shouldn't worry
too much about the future;
there's always room for a
large pair of hands in the
WNBA.
-Aubrey Henretsy' column
runs every other Monday She
can be reached via e-mail at
ahenrett@mich.edu.
desperately, I mean that a
tabloid paper in Puerto Rico
(where the Miss Universe
pageant will take place next
month) was quoted as saying
that Gossuin had "large hands
and a scar on her forehead."
Despite these damning
physical features, Gossuin
was exonerated by the ladies
that fitted her for her
bathing suit. Personally, I
wish she had turned out to
be a man. It wouldn't be the
first time a non-female was
put up on a pedestal and
are steps she can take to
improve her mediocre
appearance. The idea is, she
needs to get rid of as much
of her body as possible. One
way to do this is to give up
food altogether, ridding her-
self of unsightly flesh. Also,
the body hair has to go. It is
not uncommon for women
to pay someone to yank out
all of their eyebrow hairs
and then draw them back in
with a little tiny pencils.
Can somebody please
explain to me why this is
Greece, the Pope and Western Media
So the Greek Orthodox
Church is vehemently
protesting the Pope's
planned visit to Greece this
week. He is planning to pass
through Greece for one day,
then head to Syria, then finish
his trip in Malta as he retraces
the pilgrimage of St. Paul. The
Greek Orthodox Church
blames the Roman Catholic
papacy for, in chronological
order, the sacking of
Constantinople during the
Fourth Crusade (in 1204); the
fall of Byzantium to the Turks
(600 years ago); the Spanish
Inquisition (500 years ago);
the Bolshevik Revolution (in
1917); the Third Reich (the
1930s); and the Western
bombing campaign against
Orthodox Serb forces in
Kosovo (in 1999).
Now, the Greek government,
a socialist regime, officially
invited the Pope; but the Greek
Orthodox Church has its beefs
with them as well. In fact, they
have recently protested the
government's moves to raise
the minimum retirement age to
65 (a noble cause), while
simultaneously protesting
moves by the govemment to
remove religious identification
from state-issued identifica-
tion cards (a not so noble
cause). But before we go any
further, let's take a look at a
few of the statements circulat-
ing out of the Greek Orthodox
community.
First, we have a certain priest
in Athens who has claimed
that blood-red stains have story.)
appeared on the icon of the Now,i
Virgin Mary in his church. that dur
According to him, this is a trip, whi
clear sign of her distress at the he will1
Pope's upcoming visit. where h
According to The Electronic joint inv
Telegraph, an abbot
of a monastery on the,
Corinthian Gulf said,
"You don't honor a
criminal, you put him
in jail." Another
monk from Athens
has warned the
Guardian Unlimited
that "the faithful will
take to the streets;
blood could be shed.'
He also sported AMER
protest signs reading ZAHR
"Out with the two- LA'
horned beast, The
Pope of Rome 666."
Finally, the
Associated Press reports that a streets, a
priest leading a prayer at the medi
Mount Olympus told his vigil, symbolc
"The worst enemy of congrega
Orthodoxy is coming, the asking G
arch-heretic of Rome. We pray Surely, t
for God to prevent this." But quickly]
the quote that takes the cake is if not et
from a "liberal" Greek They wo
Orthodox priest in favor of the as"fund,
Pope's visit who told The very we]
Electronic Telegraph, no journ
"Opposition within the take the
Orthodox Church makes us the sam
look backward, suppressive were visi
and intolerant. It makes us where ti
look like Christian fanatics, the Orthodox
equivalent of Muslim funda- disparate
mentalists." (Incidentally, media w
CNN hasn't even covered this protests
it is important to note
ing the middle of the
le the Pope is in Syria,
be visiting a mosque
e will participate in a
ocation with Muslim
clergy members.
No such joint cere-
monies are sched-
uled to take place in
Greece. For me,
this whole thing
raises some inter-
esting points, as it
is a prototypical
case of an ongoing
double standard in
the media.
Imagine this. The
Muslim clergy in
Syria begins to
protest the Pope's
visit. They lead
resistance on the
nd go as far as to tell
ia that the Pope is the
of global heresy. They
ate and lead prayers
god to prevent the visit.
these clerics would be
labeled as promoting,
ngaging in, terrorism.
uld be quickly tagged
amentalists," and they
11 might be, although
alist would probably
time to find out. On
e token, if the Pope
ting Russia or Bosnia,
he churches are also
x, we would also see
treatment from the
ere the same types of
to occur. These Greek
Orthodox priests, on the other
hand, are given a free pass. In
other words, the same actions
from countries favorable to the
Western world are treated in
totally different ways than they
are from other countries. In
fact, it would probably take
much less than the vitriol
expressed by the Greek
Orthodox priests to incrimi-
nate Muslim imams who
might make similar com-
ments. Of course, no Muslim
clergy members have made
any disparaging remarks in
reference to the Pope's visit.
The only such debate is in
Greece.
So the question for us is:
why the double standard? Is it
just because the Western
world is Christian and we are
expected to discriminately
treat Muslims and Arabs in a
different way? Are we not as
afraid to call Muslims "fun-
damentalists" as we are to
call Christians the same
thing? This is not to say, of
course, that the media should
be calling the clergymen in
Greece "terrorist" and "fun-
damentalist." The point is that
if we are going to use certain
journalistic tactics to describe
those who are like us, then we
should be just as responsible
when we scrutinize those who
are not.
-Amer Zahrs column runs
every other Monday He can
bereached via e-mail at
zahrag@sumich.edu.