Letters to the Editor
Star Letter
Minority Students
To the Editor,
I read with surprise, both in Felix and in other news sources, about HESA's alarm at the demographic anomalies between the general population and university students. What I find more alarming is the responsibility which is being placed on higher education institutions with respect to this divide.
In my own personal experience, universities are amongst the most accepting and non-discriminatory institutions in modern society; isolated pockets which strive for pure meritocracy. The quotas in place at Cambridge and LSE are a shocking display of bad science and are exemplary examples of reactionary reflexes which have been implemented without a critical analysis of the problem.
Correlation with ethnicity does not imply causality and I suspect that the real cause of this rift can be traced to poverty and not the colour of one's skin. In fact, I'm sure that white children who attend dysfunctional inner-city schools and come from underprivileged backgrounds are no more likely to be accepted to universities than anyone else who has not achieved a satisfactory level of academic and social competence.
Lindi Galloway's statements echoed the real root of the problem, which is that those demographics who are underrepresented have already been failed by society by the time they reach university. To place quotas on admission which forces capable students to be turned away while struggling students are accepted does nothing but degrade the quality of higher education. It is a fundamentally flawed remedy to nothing more than a symptom of a deeper problem which is now in danger of getting worse. Like giving a cancer patient an analgesic, this sort of "remedy" leaves the patient feeling better about themselves, but merely masks the symptoms of the cause while allowing the disease to progress unabated. And, personally, if I were a member of a minority group, I would find it terribly insulting to think that my admission was a charity and not earned on merit. To rob a person of that dignity is divisive and condescending, in my humble opinion.
The real solution will come when politicians face the reality of a deteriorating social and educational system and put programs to work which aim to remedy them. Underperforming primary and secondary schools need to be identified and steps made to improve them. Social programs for disadvantaged families and parents need to be put in place to help provide a stable and positive environment for those children and to help parents be more effective. Only then will those children stand a chance at being prepared for the challenges of a university education and only then can we say that we have truly given all people a real, fair chance.
Sincerely,
Justin Dane
Department of Physics
Ramadan Campaign
Dear students and staff,
If you can cast your minds back to October you may remember ICU Islamic Society's 'Save a nation' charity campaign, our annual Ramadan campaign, in which we frantically collected for the southeast Asian quake victims.
As with any relief process - the tsunami, Katrina - sadly there were shortcomings; I certainly felt frustration and was disheartened when, despite global efforts, there seemed to be little progress, but I'm glad to say that in the week I spent in a medical camp and tent school in Mansehra I met some very dedicated and inspirational individuals - foreigners and nationals alike.
Truly, it is the global support and efforts of international governments and NGOs, in addition to the Pakistani army and government, that have brought the relief effort this far. What's more, with all this foreign and government investment the region shows promise of quality education and new opportunities for a brighter future.
I just wanted to say a (slightly belated!) thank you to everyone who helped and supported our Ramadan campaign in coordination with Islamic Relief; your contributions were important and together we managed to raise over ?15,000.
I would also like to mention that there is still a lot going on; with more than 80,000 dead, a lost generation (a reference to the thousands of schoolchildren killed) and 3.5 million left homeless, rehabilitation and reconstruction are proving to be no easy task; I urge you to continue to support the relief effort in any way possible.
Ayesha Choudhary
