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I also feel differently about race vs sex discrimination, but I'm not sure that I should. I'm not drawn to spaces that exclude everyone who doesn't look like me, but there are many minorities who (like many women) feel more comfortable in their own spaces and I feel like I shouldn't have a problem with that.
I'm with you there.
There is something different about a historically black college, for instance, and a school that has hard quotas about how many Asians they are allowed to let in during a given year. One is built on tradition, culture, and community; the other is built on, well, bullshit.
One is built on tradition, culture, and community; the other is built on, well, bullshit.
I heard someone argue that the later form of discrimination in elite schools is actually still done on behalf of their white students. His point was that the kids of the elites want to experience "representative" diversity, so the schools curate the student body to provide that experience for them. That explains why they don't really care about the outcomes for the diversity admissions or the quality of applications.
As opposed to doctoring numbers to appease their great state overlords--that motive seems much, much more sinister.
Also, I'm now laughing thinking about the same thing happening at a historically black university: Rich, black parents making sure some white and asian kids get in so that their kids have a well-rounded college experience.
Why is it funny at one institution and freaky at the other? I imagine it points to actual, historical power dynamics that are maybe still clung to. Still, thinking we can artificially adjust and redirect those power dynamics is folly and hubris.
Should organizations be allowed to discriminate on the basis of immutable characteristics?
I am okay with men's and women's universities. Those characteristics are immutable.
Universities that enroll based on race have a different issue. Sure, you can't choose your race (yet), so that makes it immutable, but it is much murkier than sex because it is socially constructed and much more varied. To me, this is a logistical issue and oddly logistical issues are ethical issues because planning, coordination, and execution require intellectual justification on multiple fronts.
It also comes down to private and public institutions and, I suppose, private institutions heavily subsidized by the state. I've got no problem with a private institution making bad decisions (without the endorsement or support from my tax dollars); their bad decisions should cost them and serve as an example.