Letters to the Editor: Affirmative action should be race blind

Kudos to Philip Kurian for bringing up the oft-forgotten but certainly crucial topic of Affirmative Action. In a time where creating utopias abroad has wrested national focus away from domestic issues, it is gratifying to see that a voice still calls for the creation of such a society at home. Yet, Kurian's focus on the racial gap, though central to the AA debate, sacrifices a much more significant gap: that of the socioeconomic one that, if lessened, could prove to be the panacea this nation needs.

Due to the attention paid to it over the years, racial inequity in this country has diminished at an astounding rate; yet there exists a lack of such care to the increasing gap between the rich and the poor that spawns future inequities. Perhaps hand-in-hand with Kurian's redesigned Affirmative Action should come a system by which the disenfranchised are given a leg up--if in nothing else, then in education.

Imagine residing in a community where, regardless of race, the concept of attending college is a far-off dream rather than the assumed reality it is for most of those on Duke's campus. Can we even picture a place where both nature and nurture have dealt the inhabitant a hand that prevents them from placing an ante, much less making a bet? The answer, for most, is no. As such, the goal of this country's movers and shakers should be to create a system where socioeconomic status, or lack thereof, is the overriding factor in benefits received. Consideration should be given to those who have earned the right and not the birthright to attend the finest educational institutions this country has to offer. And though the merits of a revised Affirmative Action cannot be ignored, we should first tout the benefits of a system where the unequivocally underprivileged are given a fighting chance. In an effort to uphold both his and the nations unending reach for equal opportunity, Kurian's desired racial egalitarianism should be converted to social egalitarianism.

Jimmy Soni

Trinity '06