The Minority Action Team and Student Government discussed the myths of affirmative action and how to educate people on it in a forum in the Student Union on Monday.
Brian Vallier, regional chair of the Republican Party of Louisiana, said affirmative action doesn’t apply only to blacks; it is for women and all other minorities as well.
“Affirmative action doesn’t say that an employer has to hire a designated number of minorities. It simply states that an employer must prove he or she has seriously considered minority candidates,” he said.
O’Keith Dellafosse, MAT president and SG associate director of minority affairs, said they also held the forum to discuss the need for affirmative action.
There is a misconception about affirmative action as reverse racism, said Melody Robinson, president of the LSU NAACP and a business administration senior.
“From 1990 to 1994, there were 10 federal cases on reverse discrimination. Only six were valid,” she said.
Six panelists led the event. The speakers were Brian Vallier, regional chairman of the Republican Party of Louisiana; Andy Benoit, associate director of admissions for LSU; Dana Williams, assistant professor of African American literature and chair of the Governing Board for the African American Cultural Center; Melody Robinson, president of the LSU NAACP; Gaines Foster, history professor; and Troy Allen, Southern University professor.
Troy Allen said misconceptions about affirmative action arise partly because more aggression is met with respect to blacks, as compared to women and other minorities. He said many people associate affirmative action with less-qualified blacks taking jobs more-qualified whites deserve. Allen made the analogy of a common parking lot situation to illustrate his point.
“It’s like someone who drives through a crowded parking lot and sees an open handicapped spot in front of a store and thinks, ‘If that spot wasn’t handicapped, I could have parked there.’ That person fails to realize how many people previously passed by that same parking space,” Allen said.
Vallier does not support ending affirmative action either.
“Many people think Republicans are out to end affirmative action. That’s a total myth,” he said. “We need to keep affirmative action until one entire generation of parents teaches their children to treat all people fairly, and that is not in the foreseeable future.”
Vallier thinks the plight of many blacks is partly caused by personal attitude. He believes that ‘handouts’ are not the solution to the problem. He used the analogy of teaching a man to fish as opposed to giving him a fish.
Dana Williams, chair of the board for the African American Cultural Center, disagreed.
“In order to fish, I need a boat, a fishing rod and bait,” she said.
All panelists agreed affirmative action is tied to race, and race is not adequately discussed.
Allen put race relations in America into perspective.
In 1903, America had its first flight when the Wright brothers flew for 58 seconds. At that same time, the book “Souls of Black Folk” was written, in which the author said the main problem in America was race relations, he said.
“In the 21st century, we can fly to the moon, but we still have problems addressing the color line. Which do you think is easier to solve, going to the moon or getting folks to get along with each other?” Allen said.
The two-hour forum had about 20 people, consisting mostly of MAT and SG members.
Cassandra Owunta said she came to support the progression of race relations on campus.
“If a lot of people would have come, they would have benefitted because [the forum] went into a great deal about affirmative action and race relations, and improving society as a whole,” Owunta said.
Dellafosse said the people in attendance reached a better understanding of affirmative action. He also said a lot of people missed out on an opportunity to learn what’s affecting race relations in America.