URM 2013-2014 Cycle Thread Forum

[applelover]

AAJD! Did your Vandy package arrive?

Didn't you say it was a 5lb one?

[californiauser]

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/11/racists- ... -about-it/

thoughts?

[toshiroh]

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/11/racists- ... -about-it/

thoughts?

I'm already overly radical. I might not need to consider UCLA if this is the norm.

[mandyjay11]

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/11/racists- ... -about-it/

thoughts?

I'm already overly radical. I might not need to consider UCLA if this is the norm.

Yeah I'm probably gonna save my little dollars and not apply there

[Dr.Zer0]

[redacted]

[NanaP]

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/11/racists- ... -about-it/

thoughts?

I really hope black ppl stop applying to this school. I wouldn't even feel comfortable being there.....you can count the diversity on one hand....

[Brettanomyces]

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/11/racists- ... -about-it/

thoughts?

No mames. :O

[californiauser]

I can't imagine the stress of finals compounded with racial BS. UCLA seems like a toxic environment for African Americans.

[Futuregohan14]

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/11/racists- ... -about-it/

thoughts?

wow
Richard Sander
much insensitive
many anti-diversity
so high paid UCLA Professor
many administration support
many student support
much uncomfortable
no apply
will avoid
wow


...on a serious note, though, I couldn't imagine having to go to a school where a Professor like that holds a prominent, highly compensated and respected place among the faculty. I couldn't imagine going to a school where the admin's response to his existence and instruction of black students was this:

[T]here are no longer black students in his 1L property classes. My 1L experience was awful and after numerous complaints to administration about why it was so problematic to continue placing blacks in his classroom, they finally stopped this year. But every year prior black students have had to suffer through and were told by white administration to “channel our anger/emotions into ‘proving his research wrong’ and performing well” — yet another burden no other white students were faced with.

This is where the concept of "stereotype threat" really starts to come into its own (read about it here). People like Sander are its biggest drivers. I've dealt with it before at my undergrad---I heard kids talking crap about other black students and how they "didn't belong", and I got really anxious about proving them wrong (and very fearful of making mistakes and proving them right). I succeeded (got a good GPA and all that), but that anxiety to avoid forced stereotypes was a heavy burden to carry that some of my peers didn't need to bother with.

I know that to some extent I'll always be fighting "stereotype threat", since at every level I go I'll deal with folks who'll think I won't belong because of my race and I'll always feel the need to guard against those accusations by being better at any cost. That's just reality.
What I can't do, however, is have that struggle essentially shoved into my face and ratcheted up about 100 notches with someone like Sander (a man who has built his career on formalizing the notion that people like myself don't belong in his company or that of his non-URM students) in my midst.

I've never had a problem heading to academic environments that were not perceived to be particularly friendly to URMs. My undergrad is somewhat isolated and has built a rep as a pretty conservative school with some issues with racial incidents/intolerance. I came despite this because it was a great school. I did fine, and got a lot of positives out of it academically.

I've read some of the concerns about Michigan expressed in this thread and would still go there anyway because it is a great school. I'm confident I'd survive and do alright.

In short, I'm not afraid of going into academic environments that aren't terribly minority-friendly and dealing with it so long as I'm going to a great school with the potential to yield strong academic and professional rewards for me down the line (as my undergrad has done).
UCLA is a great school and has that potential I just mentioned, but this is too much even for me. There's simply too much hostility with too much formal backing out way too far in the open for me to tolerate. I couldn't imagine spending money to apply there, much less fly across the country and attend.

I can't see them ever having too many URMs (especially AAs). I wouldn't advise any URM I spoke with to apply there.

[AAJD2B]

+1 Gohan. Give me USC any day over UCLA. I will even choose Michigan over that school. Ridiculous.

[AAJD2B]

AAJD! Did your Vandy package arrive?

Didn't you say it was a 5lb one?

Yup, apple, I literally came home to find it waiting for me. I arrived late. Loved the packaging!

Also, good luck with the JS2 wait. Hope tomorrow is your lucky day !

[mandyjay11]

+1 Gohan. Give me USC any day over UCLA. I will even choose Michigan over that school. Ridiculous.

for real, Gohan is right.... Idk about Michigan tho, it soooo colddddddddd haha

[mandyjay11]

Also, LSAC is so damn speedy with uploading my stuff. My adviser mailed a recommendation on Friday after business hours nad I got an email that it was all uploaded and ready this morning

[Typhoon24]

Idk, I think I might be a little thick-skinned on the issue. I don't feel like I would not apply to a school after finding out that one professor has an anti-AA viewpoint. can't expect every single professor to be on board. His view isn't even that radical--hell, even Clarence Thomas and at least 2 other supreme court justices would agree. As for the shirt thing, I wouldn't give a crap if a white kid was wearing the shirt. I'd have to make a couple leaps in logic to actually get mad.

Lol I'd just walk in, get an A, and leave quietly and let him add that statistic to his data pool.

Disclaimer: my opinion could come from me being raised in the south where I'd have to deal with way more serious issues concerned with racism.

[mandyjay11]

Idk, I think I might be a little thick-skinned on the issue. I don't feel like I would not apply to a school after finding out that one professor has an anti-AA viewpoint. can't expect every single professor to be on board. His view isn't even that radical--hell, even Clarence Thomas and at least 2 other supreme court justices would agree. As for the shirt thing, I wouldn't give a crap if a white kid was wearing the shirt. I'd have to make a couple leaps in logic to actually get mad.

Lol I'd just walk in, get an A, and leave quietly and let him add that statistic to his data pool.

Disclaimer: my opinion could come from me being raised in the south where I'd have to deal with way more serious issues concerned with racism.

Yes, but the fact that the AA students are not able to walk in his class and get an A should be concerning.

Then the fact that AA's have to be removed from his class should also concern you because a University would go against every diversity mantra it has by allowing that to happen. There are professors at EVERY SCHOOL who have a disparaging view on AA's but not once have I heard that the students were so uncomfortable in their class that arrangements needed to be made to have switched out.

Also, this is not an isolated thing. We have talked about UCLA not being a good place for AAs for many other reasons so I don't think some of us have chosen not to apply just because of this. This situation is kind of the last straw. So, yeah.

[AAJD2B]

Idk, I think I might be a little thick-skinned on the issue. I don't feel like I would not apply to a school after finding out that one professor has an anti-AA viewpoint. can't expect every single professor to be on board. His view isn't even that radical--hell, even Clarence Thomas and at least 2 other supreme court justices would agree. As for the shirt thing, I wouldn't give a crap if a white kid was wearing the shirt. I'd have to make a couple leaps in logic to actually get mad.

Lol I'd just walk in, get an A, and leave quietly and let him add that statistic to his data pool.

Disclaimer: my opinion could come from me being raised in the south where I'd have to deal with way more serious issues concerned with racism.

1. Clarence ain't black.

2. As if getting an A from a racist would be a walk in the park. Those folks can and do intentionally find ways to grade you less than what you deserve. I refuse to attend a school where my chances of being royally f*cked is increased two-fold just on the basis of my skin color.

[AAJD2B]

Idk, I think I might be a little thick-skinned on the issue. I don't feel like I would not apply to a school after finding out that one professor has an anti-AA viewpoint. can't expect every single professor to be on board. His view isn't even that radical--hell, even Clarence Thomas and at least 2 other supreme court justices would agree. As for the shirt thing, I wouldn't give a crap if a white kid was wearing the shirt. I'd have to make a couple leaps in logic to actually get mad.

Lol I'd just walk in, get an A, and leave quietly and let him add that statistic to his data pool.

Disclaimer: my opinion could come from me being raised in the south where I'd have to deal with way more serious issues concerned with racism.

Yes, but the fact that the AA students are not able to walk in his class and get an A should be concerning.

Then the fact that AA's have to be removed from his class should also concern you because a University would go against every diversity mantra it has by allowing that to happen. There are professors at EVERY SCHOOL who have a disparaging view on AA's but not once have I heard that the students were so uncomfortable in their class that arrangements needed to be made to have switched out.

Also, this is not an isolated thing. We have talked about UCLA not being a good place for AAs for many other reasons so I don't think some of us have chosen not to apply just because of this. This situation is kind of the last straw. So, yeah.

+100000

[Typhoon24]

I'll have to look more into the whole "remove black students from his class" deal because that sounds insane. I can understand if it's a last straw type situation, though.

[NanaP]

Idk, I think I might be a little thick-skinned on the issue. I don't feel like I would not apply to a school after finding out that one professor has an anti-AA viewpoint. can't expect every single professor to be on board. His view isn't even that radical--hell, even Clarence Thomas and at least 2 other supreme court justices would agree. As for the shirt thing, I wouldn't give a crap if a white kid was wearing the shirt. I'd have to make a couple leaps in logic to actually get mad.

Lol I'd just walk in, get an A, and leave quietly and let him add that statistic to his data pool.

Disclaimer: my opinion could come from me being raised in the south where I'd have to deal with way more serious issues concerned with racism.

1. Clarence ain't black.

2. As if getting an A from a racist would be a walk in the park. Those folks can and do intentionally find ways to grade you less than what you deserve. I refuse to attend a school where my chances of being royally f*cked is increased two-fold just on the basis of my skin color.

+1, also this isn't one isolated event...the whole school seems to lack diversity (other than athletes of course)

LOL @ "Clarence ain't black"....not gonna agree with this, but I do think he has some warped views that just don't make sense, has he ever looked in the mirror???

[midnight_circus]

Oh my god. That is horrifying.
I mean, as for the kids wearing Team Sander shirts, I DGAF. I mean, it's definitely some first-rate ass-kissing BS, but I imagine it is brownnosing and not deliberately racist intent on the part of the kids wearing the shirts. Was it lame? 110%. Am I going to cast doubt on their moral character? No--I'll settle for maligning their judgment.
But for the ADMINISTRATION of a top law school--of any law school--to act in such a way is beyond reprehensible. To deliberately construct sections with no AA students because one of their professors makes them so uncomfortable? To tell AA students to "prove him wrong"? WTF is that? Law school is hard enough without stressing about such blatantly discriminatory action. The fact that the administration stands behind the professor in this, instead of its students and ostensible commitment to education and diversity, infuriates me.
Now, to be clear, I support Sanders' right to publish whatever research and hold whatever views he sees fit. If UCLA censored him for being against affirmative action, I would not think it was just or fair. He has freedom of speech too, after all, and all sides should be represented in public debate. But your rights in public debate do not in any way justify a policy of intimidating your students or making their classroom experience miserable.

This makes me grumpy.

[toshiroh]

I might take a little break from here until after the LSAT. I don't need the anxiousness of other posters rubbing off on me lol

[mandyjay11]

I might take a little break from here until after the LSAT. I don't need the anxiousness of other posters rubbing off on me lol

yeah I didn't go in those forums too much in the days leading up to the LSAT because they get too nuts for me.

[MoMettaMonk]

Oh my god. That is horrifying.
I mean, as for the kids wearing Team Sander shirts, I DGAF. I mean, it's definitely some first-rate ass-kissing BS, but I imagine it is brownnosing and not deliberately racist intent on the part of the kids wearing the shirts.

This makes me grumpy.

I disagree with this. We're not talking about some high schoolers, or even some random undergrads. We're talking about ADULTS in their 20s who deliberately chose this professor. A professor, as everyone has pointed out, that CAN'T EVEN HAVE AFRICAN AMERICANS IN HIS CLASSES! No, these are highly intelligent adults at a top professional school who made a choice to do something that they knew would offend the few African American classmates that they do have, and I refuse to try to make excuses for their actions when the obvious reason is slapping me in the face.

[mandyjay11]

side note: y'all which one of you is this person? http://lawschoolnumbers.com/dreusmc711

[MoMettaMonk]

side note: y'all which one of you is this person? http://lawschoolnumbers.com/dreusmc711

Might be Dr. Dre, at least that would be my guess.