Empirical data is uncomfortable. Suck it up.

In this story, we learn that black students at Duke are upset because of

“The most immediate cause for students’ anger is an as-yet unpublished study by Duke researchers saying black students match the GPA of whites over time in part because they switch to majors that require less study time and have less stringent grading standards. Opponents of affirmative action are citing the study in a case they want the U.S. Supreme Court to consider.”

in addition to, among other things, insufficiently demonstrated dedication to celebration of black culture. The solutions proposed include “a stable funding source for cultural events and academic programs involving black students, and for the creation of a special university working group to assess whether blacks feel the climate at Duke is unwelcoming” because “These are really just symptoms of a contentious and strained racial climate here.”

Now. To recap: Because a study indicates a reason for grading parity that you don’t approve of, you cry institutional discrimination. This smacks of a mentality that can’t see beyond victimization, self-pity, and self-aggrandizement. It shows a blatant disrespect for academic freedom, free speech, and black achievement where it’s valid.

So, some questions that I would like to pose to Ms. Asante to get a better understanding of the logic behind the requests for amelioration:

1) When would you know that the “contentious and strained racial climate” has been improved to a satisfactory level? What are the objective gates or measures? (hint: there are none. this is not based on behavior or anything else–it’s based on how loved Ms. Asante is feeling.)

2) Assume for the moment that the study is accurate. Are you worried about suppressing academic freedom and truth by raising a ruckus about these findings? Would you want to know the trends behind minority student performance in college? (answer: don’t care. it’s all about Meeeeee!)

3) Assume for the moment that the study is inaccurate. Can’t you just do some research to find and disseminate the truth? What problem is funding cultural celebration going to solve?

4) Are you willing to go to bat for other minorities (i.e. Latino-heritage students, Pacific islanders, etc) on similar grounds?

In short, methinks the lady doth protest too much. She’s using this as an excuse to get indignant and put the university on the defensive about race to get her cause some wasta. Every time I read one of these stories, I have less and less regard for black cultural anything because the demands have become so devalued and divorced from anything real.

From The Bell Curve to SBDL, there is a lot of really controversy-inspiring content out and about to discuss. This one is minor, factual, and easily dealt with. It seems that Ms. Asante is aware of and worried about the implications that people might draw from this study–namely, that black minority students on average don’t do well in difficult majors, and so move to easier ones to get better grades. The underlying theme is that blacks are only doing as well as whites on paper because they move to easy majors. Uncomfortable, to be sure, and terribly un-PC–but the responsible questions arise after acknowledging the data: Is it fact? If it is fact, why does it happen? What are the implications, and how do we address them?

But so what if it’s true? I mean, really. Lots of people move to easy majors and classes to get better grades. This is a vital part of the credentialing aspect of education–that good grades in hard majors say that you worked for something worthwhile. If you decided to spend your college experience slacking off studying Communications or Art History, that’s up to you–you make the choice, you bear the consequences later. Racism has nothing to do with it. The sooner we acknowledge empirical truth, the sooner we can start dealing with it in a productive manner.

So deal.