Race In Education Essay, Research Paper

Fall of 1999, I applied for the University of Idaho to pursue a bachelor degree.

I could be the first in my family to obtain this accomplishment. The issue that

always came to mind was will I have enough money? Racial issues in the state of

Idaho were a concern of mine also, for I was a member of a minority group. How

is it possible for an Asian American, from a low-income family, suppose to fund

their education and mentally tolerate racism in Idaho? I felt scared and

uncertain of what the future held for me. I he question, ?how does other

minority groups deal and cope with the issues at hand?? When I graduated high

school in 1994, I was uncertain of what I wanted to do. I failed to get a

scholarship in athletics and had no funding to pay for school. So, I thought to

myself ?What am I to do for myself now?? Like most minorities I went to work

for a living and eventually got married. Things got worse and worse as time went

on. Things turned for the worst and I got divorced and was working as a

furniture salesman. I spoke to my parents and told them that I was going to go

to college at the University of Idaho. My father laughed and said, ?yea right

and pigs fly.? Certainly all the odds are stacked up against minorities in

getting a better education. With all the issues brought up in America about

equality in the past decade. We find that minorities do have a lot of lenience

in pursuing an education and pursuing professional jobs, ?equal

opportunity.? A big question is ?how much lenience do we give and who do we

give it to?? In a recent article that I read in the Idaho Statesman,

?Diversity: Idaho and the U.S.? was pretty interesting, but yet still a

harsh reality to minorities. It stated that less than 10 percent of Idaho?s

population was minority. Idaho is the rated 42 out of 50 states in the lowest

percent of minority residents. With numbers so low, does this impact the

lenience of minorities received in colleges and big corporations? Does company

like Micron and Hewlett-Packard in Boise have recruiting problems in hiring

minorities due to affirmative action? Section 601 of the Civil Rights Act of

1964 provides: No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race,

color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the

benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity

receiving Federal financial assistance. (American Constitutional Law) With these

recruiting problems does this affect the quality of the work? In a interview in

The Idaho Statesman, Mehairi stated, ?Nothing makes me want to go there,?

said Mehairi Kassa, a Drexel University student interviewing at a California job

fair where HP (Hewlett Packard) was recruiting.? If corporations can?t to

hire on the bases of where they can?t base their decision on race, religion,

sex, and affiliation of any specific group. Then why do we use these things for

basing funding for education? With all these questions at hand, I was curious

and I started to look into these fascinating things. Among these things I found

in Idaho there are four different racist groups residing in Bonners Ferry, Coeur

d?Alene, Idaho Falls, Nampa, and Sandpoint and others in North Idaho. (Idaho

Statesman) ?North Idaho College couldn?t persuade any person of color to

apply for its president?s job. Several black female candidates were contacted

but declined when they learned the college was in Coeur d?Alene,? stated Ron

Bell Interim President. (Idaho Statesman) This gave me a little insight in how

people had perceived the state of Idaho. I think it is perceived this way

because of how Idaho is portrayed in the media. With the whole OJ Simpson case

and how Mark Fermin lived in Sandpoint. It gives a preconceived idea to

minorities considering moving to Idaho. After seeing this insight, I wasn?t

going to let it deter me from pursuing an education. I continued to look for all

the possible ways to finance my education. I filled out a Financial Aide form

and pursued several scholarships. After all this, I received enough funding to

attend the University of Idaho. Is this because I?m a minority or because I

come from a low-income family? I feel that I received this due to the image of

how minorities see Idaho?s image and that I should reflect how Idaho really

looks. Looking at the other side of coin, being white Caucasian, is this really

fair that minorities receive more funding because they were born into a minority

family? In this, does the fact that they get special treatment spark anger among

the white community? In light of this, I went next door and interviewed two

white females that are attending the university. Both took the side that

?minorities shouldn?t get more funding than Caucasians, because we are all

human and funding should be based on need not race.? How are whites treated in

other countries? Are they given the same opportunities as minorities here in

America? One of the interviewees even brought up athletes getting more funding

upset them as well. Which opens a whole new realm.