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Prof. debates affirmative action

Students gathered in East Quad's Benzinger library last night to listen to philosophy associate Prof. Elizabeth Anderson provide arguments in support of affirmative action programs.

In addressing the need to maintain these programs, Anderson provided two arguments: the compensatory side and the diversity orientation position.

"Compensatory justice is when people who have suffered from injustice are entitled to compensation," she said. "Affirmative action programs will give competitive advantages for competitive disadvantages they have suffered due to racism."

Anderson said the compensatory argument is stronger for the African American community than for Latino/as and Asian Americans because "the African Americans have suffered more severely" than the other communities.

She also endorsed University President James Duderstadt's idea of diversity orientation as another argument in favor of affirmative action.

"Diversity is a resource from which everyone can benefit," she said. "People who graduate from all-white universities are not prepared to deal with the racially mixed society."

Anderson also addressed claims made by those opposing affirmative action.

Anderson dissected the "innocent white victims" argument by saying, "Although white victims by in large are innocent, they are unjust beneficiaries to racist practices and enjoy competitive advantages."

"Even when whites have not personally discriminated, they are still unjust beneficiaries to racist practices," she said.

She cited greater networks among whites, seniority in the corporate world due to legacies of racism and the greater proximity of white communities to jobs as three advantages whites have over blacks.

The lecture was sponsored by the Residential College and the Benzinger library. Last week, philosophy Prof. Carl Cohen presented arguments against affirmative action programs in his lecture, "The Case Against Preference by Race."

RC first-year student Neela Ghoshal said she has always been in favor of affirmative action programs and the lecture helped clarify things for her.

"(The lecture) helped me a lot to see philosophical and practical arguments -- and it might be easier (for me) to convince people of the practical arguments," she said.