Affirming Affirmative Action

This post is by Leah Apothaker, legislative intern at the National Council of Jewish Women.

Last year, when the professor of my black politics class informed us that affirmative action might be in jeopardy, I didn’t believe him. Who knew that only a few months later, I’d be rallying with NCJW and our coalition partners outside the US Supreme Court in favor of affirmative action the morning of the Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin oral arguments? The plaintiff in the case, Abigail Fisher, is a white student who believes she was denied admission at UT because of her race.  Should the court rule in her favor, they would overturn their 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, which allowed race to be one of many factors considered during in the college admissions process. This outcome would be damaging—not only for students of color, but also for the white students who benefit so greatly from a diverse student body and the civil right of equal opportunity.

At the rally, an organizer handed me a sign that read, “Diversity equals success.” Many speakers told personal stories, quoted think tank studies, cited admissions statistics, and repeated the message of the sign I held. As a student I couldn’t help but wonder, is diversity really the key to my success?

When applying to colleges, I knew I wanted to attend a university that championed promulgated diversity as a priority. In high school, my peers and I were all the same—white, upper-middle class, third and fourth generation Americans.  While we may have each had different academic strengths and interests, I had little to learn from their life experiences because we had such similar roots. I believed then, as I do now, that a vital component of education is discussion and disbursement of ideas among students and professors both in and out of the classroom. When diversity doesn’t exist in a student body, the range of perspective represented diminishes. When diversity doesn’t exist within a student body, students are denied opportunities to learn and grow from one another. When diversity doesn’t exist in a student body, we are allowed to remain ignorant.

College shouldn’t be a bubble where students aren’t challenged to alter our perspectives or ways of thinking. It should prepare us to understand others and learn to work together to achieve great things. Diversity works for students. By preparing us for reality, it sets us up to succeed. Diversity equals success.

Now a senior at The Ohio State University, I’m the beneficiary of a student community beautifully impacted by multiculturalism and ethnic and racial diversity. I value the additional admissions consideration my university provides to first generation college students and students who bring “cultural, economic, racial, or geographic diversity” to the student population.  Why? Because I, like the students at UT, know these considerations have helped enrich and further my education.

Originally posted here on October 12th, 2012

Oral Arguments: Surprisingly Never a Dull Moment

October 1st is not a particularly special day for many people, but this year it was for me.  It was the first Monday in October, which made it the beginning of the 2012-2013 term of the Supreme Court.  By some stroke of luck, I was able to get a seat in the courtroom to witness it.  Well before 10AM, I headed to the courtroom to be seated, finding myself impressed by how full the courtroom was.  At exactly 10 o’clock, the Justices made their entrance into the courtroom and took their places.  The Chief Justice announced the opening of the term, admitted new members to the Supreme Court Bar, and then started on the first case.  Kiobel v. Dutch Royal Petroleum as a strange case to hear because the question of why it was even being heard in the United States was repeated several times.  A little used Alien Tort Statute, established by the Judiciary Act of 1789 served as the purpose for the Supreme Court hearing the case, as well as the diplomatic issues that could arise from different rulings.  Still, many Justices weren’t convinced and displayed that during the time each side is given.  The attorneys only have thirty minutes each to argue their case, and the Justices can ask questions at any time, so it becomes a large question-and-answer session to help the Justices clarify and make decisions.  When the first hour was finished, the second case began.

Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Fl. Provided some comic relief.  While the underlying issue—what exactly is a vessel ?—is very serious and could have some pretty far reaching consequences, the case itself was  hilarious.  A Florida millionaire, described as eccentric, owned a floating home and was connected to the dock by a rope and extension cord.  In determining if this was a vessel or not, the Justices considered whether inner tubes or styrofoam couches that floated along the river could also be vessels, too.  At times, I found myself laughing out loud at the comments made by the Justices, but never forgetting that the case at hand as far more serious than one man’s desire to have his home float on the river.

Overall, I was incredibly pleased by my ability to hear the arguments.  It was not until I received this internship that I even entertained the idea that I might get to view oral arguments, and I never thought I would get to see such exciting cases.

If you would like to read more about the cases, this website has really great information : www.SCOTUSblog.com

            If you would like to listen to the cases I heard, they will be online on Friday here : http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_audio.aspx

-Katie

The Balkans, 21st Century Civility

I had the opportunity to meet the Deputy Prime Minister of Macedonia, Teuta Arifi, along with the ambassadors of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina  Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia, during a luncheon discussion of Macedonia and the European Union. The Republic of Macedonia has been in Accession to the E.U. since 2005, and DPM Arifi spoke openly, succinctly, and candidly of the Republic’s integration into the European Union. 

The name dispute with Greece is considered to be the biggest obstacle to Macedonian integration into the E.U. The name dispute is a disagreement between the two countries concerning the official name of the Republic of Macedonia, which is recognized by the United Nations as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.” The dispute arises from ambiguity between the Republic of Macedonia and the adjacent Greek region of Macedonia which falls within Greek Macedonia. Greece opposes the use of the name "Macedonia" by the Republic of Macedonia without a geographical qualifier.

What was interesting, in my opinion, about this luncheon, was seeing how diplomatically the ambassadors interacted with each other, given the tumultuous history within the region. I am certainly enjoying learning and growing in DC!


#WAIPAU2012

- Jade Adair
 

George Bellows

-Isaac Choi-

A week ago, I went to National Galary of Art to see the gallery dedicated to George Bellows, our fellow OSU alum. His art work was indeed jaw dropping. His work captures every emotion, motion, and ambiance creating entertaining yet very realistic art work.


His famous Stag at Sharkey’s amazed me because he was able to capture not only the fighters punching motions, but also their emotions, struggles and their desires to win. Also crowd's mixed face expressions creates very active atmosphere. The painting gave me an illusion that I was sitting next to Bellows in a boxing arena filled with noise and excitement.


There was one part of me wondering why I like his art so much. Is it because of his style? is it because of the art subjects? Or is it simply because he is from OSU? 

To learn about his art more, I went to the west wing of the museum where the film about him was playing. Unlike the rest of the museum, the west wing was dedicated to contemporary and modern art. Surrounded by weird looking sculptures and strange art pieces (which looked like they were done by four year olds), I watched the short film about George Bellows and his work. Then I slowly began to understand why Bellows work was liked by many people, including myself. 

Unlike Bellows, many artists at that time began to experiment with art, Picasso's cubism for example. However, as the time went on, artists were too busy with their experiments and their techniques, the subjects of the artists have became invisible to the audience. Too fixated in their theories and their efforts to be unique, the line between good art and bad art was blurred, leaving audiences puzzled and confused. When looking at a modern art piece, the audience can't tell whether the piece they are seeing is a creative masterpiece with genius idea or a crappy art piece that were done by 4 year olds. Too many crappy art pieces nowadays has "meanings" behind, but I can't help but to wonder if those are really artful or only artful just because some pretentious people gave more meanings than they deserve.

Bellows who was concurrent of the inception of this puzzling art period, did not give in to the pressure to be "unique" or "modern." Instead he drew and painted what he saw and how he felt explicitly on canvases. He did not experiment with his art or made his art difficult for his audience. No one has to search for meanings behind Bellow's work, and no one has to doubt his art skills. Bellow's art is simply easy and good.

More artists should be influenced by his work. I hope they began to realize that they don't have to "create" art. Instead of nailing thousands of strawberries on a wall or doing some weird activities to pursue art, artists can simply draw their everyday lives, people they meet, sceneries of their neighborhoods to create beautiful art. George Bellows reminds all of us that we are surrounded by gorgeous art.