"A way for minority students to enter college." This statement was a response to the question "What is affirmative action?" on a questionnaire conducted by the Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) program's students. Affirmative action, in fact, was initiated under the Kennedy administration, instructing federal contractors to "ensure that applicants are treated equally without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." In a follow-up question, one student commented that he did not favor affirmative action because he felt he was passed over a black student for acceptance into his top choice college.
During the last two weeks, EPIIC students conducted a questionnaire eliciting responses from the Tufts' student body to questions pertaining to race and ethnicity in the global community. While a substantial number of students did respond to a majority of the questions accurately and thoughtfully, some of the questions are difficult and complete accuracy was not expected for certain answers. Indeed, many surveys were handed back with more question marks than words. For those who thought the questionnaire was impossible and purposely contrived to make students feel ignorant, rest assured that this is simply not true. The questions were designed to stimulate students' curiosity about race and ethnicity and provoke their own thoughts on the subject.
However, some of the answers were more than just incorrect _ they indicated misconstrued perceptions of race and ethnicity. According to the survey results, a large segment of those questioned are misinformed. The lack of factual information among the student body is not surprising. Society in general has a tendency to consistently feed off of misconceptions. This recycling of fallacies, particularly in the sensitive arena of race and ethnicity, is detrimental to a productive dialogue to improve race and ethnic relations. Misinformation can lead to unnecessary assumptions, and feelings of distrust and hostility. In order for progress to be made in improving race and ethnic relations in the future, the topic must be able to be discussed candidly and intelligently, therefore students need to educate themselves. Perhaps the student who commented on affirmative action would have had a stronger argument if he had been able to fully understand its definition and purpose. No matter what position one chooses to support on a particular issue, having a solid mass of factual information to back it up is always necessary.
"To me, the hope lies in the education piece," commented Dr. Jean Wu during last Thursday's pre-symposium panel, The Dream Deferred: Race and American Politics. "When you have a generation who has so little knowledge on how the system works, it's important to get basic education in order to get closer to a point where you can act." The high attendance at Thursday's panel serves as a good example of students taking the initiative to responsibly inform themselves. I also commend the numerous students who participated in the survey and were able to recognize their own lack of knowledge regarding these topics and express an ardent desire to learn more.
Education and discussion are the tools needed to combat the oppressive forces of prejudice, discrimination and racism. Race and ethnicity are such germane topics that we cannot afford for them to be ignored or to be temporarily discarded and addressed at a later time. They affect us all and they affect us now.
Uyen Tan is a sophomore majoring in international relations and economics.
