Readers React: Scalia and affirmative action: How much has changed since segregation was the law?

To the editor: My father and grandfather attended the University of Texas at Austin when segregation was the law of the land, and despite the tremendous odds of racism stacked against them as African American men, they went on to achieve their goals of successfully completing their higher education and flourishing in their respective careers: education and ministry. (“For black students at Texas, Supreme Court remarks are a burden added,” Dec. 12)

They came from a pre-civil rights generation that believed in education and hard work as antidotes to racial injustice.

Both men have long since passed away, but I do believe they would shake their heads at the dismally low percentage of African Americans attending college, the tremendous fight in our once great nation to make those few who are attending college feel unwelcome and, furthermore, efforts to keep the others who “don’t belong there” out.

Allison Boyce, Long Beach

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To the editor: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia questioned whether admitting underqualified minority students to elite universities does either them or society any good.

He suggested that students attend institutions where the teaching levels match their capabilities rather than sending them to institutions where they will not do well because of frustration with the level of teaching.

It is perhaps a valid topic of debate whether artificially increasing the number of minority students at the University of Texas is good or not. But the debate should be over underqualified students, as Scalia said, and not all minorities, as the article implies.

David Paquette, Cerritos

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To the editor: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. asked, “What unique perspective does a minority student bring to a physics class?”

It is not just the perspective a minority student brings that makes a difference, but the perspective that all students gain as classmates discover that students of any race, religion, ethnicity and gender can have knowledge, insights and ideas that advance our common understanding.

Jody Reichel, Culver City

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