Once again my report begins with a subject raised around the bagel table after eight volleyball games. Healthcare was going to be my focus, but it will have to wait for later. Maybe it was the fact that he brought the bagels this week, and discovered that’s why we really get up early on a Sunday and risk bodily injury. Before the games began, Manuel, our good friend from Spain, noted he actually received a call for the first time on Saturday reminding him that it was his turn to bring the bagels. So, once again he posed an excellent question to spark dialogue. He wanted to know why white males were at the bottom rung of the ladder. Several of us asked for clarification. Manuel said when his company wanted to hire new employees members of minority groups were selected first. Sam said this requirement usually only applied to companies doing business with the federal government. In response Manuel wanted to know why colleges and universities gave preferential treatment to minorities. Again, it was related back to receiving federal funds. We discussed how California had passed a proposition initiated by Ward Connerly, a conservative African American activist who opposed the idea of using affirmative action to lower standards, which eliminated preferential treatment for scholarships. Mike added his knowledge of Michigan schools was they eliminated affirmative action but still reserved the right to find ways to build diversity in their schools. To which I added that I thought it was incumbent upon these institutions of higher learning to maintain high standards while building diversity by expanding their search both in where they look for students and how early they start to target potential students. Sam said such a program already exists at USC, for non-Californians-non-NCAA-sports-freaks that’s the University of Southern California. Manuel told us when he applied for admission to a junior college he was told he was not white, as he had indicated, but Hispanic. He claimed he thought Hispanic was an ethnicity not a race. In fact, he said he looked it up in the dictionary and found it meant individuals who speak Spanish. It didn’t help matters he said when the admissions official asked where in Mexico could one find Spain. Making the assumption such an official was at least a high school graduate, and as a former teacher who is astutely aware of Jay Leno’s talks with people on the street, I apologized for that official’s deficient education. I also noted an individual has a right to decline to state race or can choose other. Being the over-exuberant person I am I also indicated the whole concept of race is bullshit. For example, I pointed out I told people I was of European descent “as far as I know.” Certainly, with all the African tribes invading Europe and European tribes invading Africa, and other parts of the world, my, and for that matter everyone else’s, genetic makeup is in question. A great American once said he looked forward to the day when people would be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Now, in other developments it appears Oscar season has come to a close with Bigelow edging out Cameron. Big Ben finds himself in off-season trouble while spring training is in full swing. Kara DioGuardi did not ask Simon’s permission to put her Hollywood Hills home up for sale. And yes, budget reconciliation appears to be the new buzzword as healthcare and education take precedent over high profile out of country excursions. Stay tuned as this one comes down to the wire. Finally, did I mention that as we were walking out to our cars after bagels, Manuel confided to me that his father’s portion of his hyphenated surname is actually Portuguese?
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