[MD] The MOQ's First Principle

[CRAIGERB at comcast.net]

[Arlo]
> I am, personally, NOT a fan of affirmative action programs

The original purpose of "affirmative action" was good--to solicit applications from neglected segments of society & to offer remedial help.  This fostered upward mobility at little cost.  It was only later that it devolved into quotas & lessening of standards.   
[Arlo]
> The question I have is this, if we remove "affirmative action" do you 
> believe that the resulting system will NOT reward "white people" on 
> the virtue of their "race"? Many conservatives say "no", only ability 
> will be a factor, but study after study disproves this (a recent one 
> traced applications containing "obvious" black names versus ones with 
> racially ambiguous ones, those with black-sounding names were 
> significantly less likely to receive a request for an interview).

The study, as you described it, is fatally flawed.  The proper test would be compare identical applications except for black-sounding versus non-black-sounding names.   But no matter,
applications should not contain information (names, photos, etc.) which will prejudice the
selection.  For instance, the essay portion of the bar exam for lawyers does not reveal names but is identifieed only by an assigned number.
Also orchestras which were formerly all-white (& before that all white male) became more racially diverse after auditions were held with a curtain between performer & judge, so that only the music was heard.
Craig