ShamMol said:
The fact is that that aid makes it possible for this to eventually become a society where calss and race and social standing doesn't matter in education
I must agree with you in part, and disagree with you in part.
First, we will start with the agreeing.
"Class" and "Social Standing" should not be a factor in admission to college, but the fact is, that it is an important factor, at least on the student end. I have many friends who cannot go to schools they can get into and be successful at, but cannot afford. This is unfair.
I must somewhat shamefully (yet thankfully and gratefully) admit that my parents are paying my whole way for college. I can't tell you I personally know what it is like to have to deal with poverty. But here's my view:
Hard work over multiple generations can solve this problem of poverty and higher education.
Say a poverty stricken student gets into a public university, accepts financial aid from the government, work/studies his/her butt off in college, and takes out a few loans. This person, if they worked hard in high school may be able to get into an Honors Program of some sorts. If they get good grades and graduate from a decent state school with honors, maybe they can get a decent job, making a decent living and achieving middle class status.
Let's say that this person's kid also works hard in high school. Maybe now the first generation student can afford to get them into a decent private school. If the second generation kid works hard and graduates with honors, maybe they can land a high-paying, high-prestige job.
The third generation of this family then would have the opportunities to go to Ivy League schools, as far as financing goes.
It happened to my family. My grandma was poor as all get up during the Great Depression, but with hard work, careful planning, and lots of love she was able to raise a pretty darn successful family. I am proud of that. I am proud to say that all of my family's money is earned. I will be proud to finance my kids educations with earned money.
So there you have it: the only problem with poverty is that it cannot be solved quickly. The first generation may not live a lavish life, and may not have access to an Ivy. But the fact is that any student today can go to college, regardless of how much money they have. They just need to want it. Improvement comes with time and hard work.
Now, the disagreeing part. Under the Constitution today, race IS something that can be considered in college admissions, and it should be considered. The 2003 Supreme Court decision in
Grutter v. Bollinger upheld as constitutional the use of race as a factor in admissions. Simply put, the Court believed that maintaining diversity was an important factor for colleges and universities to consider. Therefore, as the Constitution stands today race will be considered in admissions, not for racist reasons, but for important cultural interaction reasons.
Even if maintaining a high number of minorities was a problem in college admissions, throwing money at these students would not solve the problem. This is a moral issue, a civil rights issue, or even an attitudinal issue, but not a financial issue (see above, if they work hard they'll have the same opportunities)
To summarize:
financial aid to fight poverty=good, but needs to be accompanied by hard work.
financial aid to fight racism=useless without attitudinal changes by the college as well as the minority students