" WASHINGTON Yadier Molina Puerto Rico Jersey , Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Admission policies employed bymost U.S. universities, in which skin color plays a major role,have put Asians at a disadvantage, a U.S. legal expert hassaid.
""The use of race in various ways is a standard part of howuniversity administrators are brought up to believe their job isdone,"" Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based think tankCato Institute, told Xinhua on Tuesday.
Including race as an impact factor when evaluating an applicantfor a job or admission to a program is rooted in the concept ofaffirmative action Seth Lugo Puerto Rico Jersey , when first appeared in the United States in the1960s to combat racial discrimination.
The Supreme Court supported the notion that race can be a factorto ""increase diversity"" in a ruling in the late 1970s, changing themain goal of affirmative action from promoting racial justice toguaranteeing racial diversity in institutions.
But decades later, this ruling began to show serious sideeffects, as the line between upholding racial diversity and racialdiscrimination started to blur, and certain racial groups,primarily Asians and Asian Americans, began to feel at adisadvantage.
""Even though Asians and Asian Americans represent the largestgrowing group of college applicants Hector Santiago Puerto Rico Jersey , their numbers at the selectiveinstitutions remain as they were 20, 25 years ago, so there is acertain disconnect,"" Shapiro said.
""Studies by Princeton University show that it's not the thumb onthe scales, it's a brick,"" said Shapiro, who is also theeditor-in-chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review.
""I think oftentimes university administrators might have astereotype of Asians as being one-dimensional Edwin Diaz Puerto Rico Jersey , perhaps just beinginterested in math and science, that's definitely a form ofracism,"" Shapiro said.
Furthermore, the more prestigious the university, the bigger thedifferences in academic qualifications by racial groups appear,Shapiro said, pointing to Ivy League universities includingHarvard.
""People in the lowest 25 percent in academic achievement at agiven institution are racial minorities Joe Jimenez Puerto Rico Jersey , generally Latinos, blacks,and native Americans,"" Shapiro said.
The unfair practice does not only hurt Asians and AsianAmericans, but also those who are given preferred treatment,Shapiro said.
""They end up in a place oftentimes where the work is moreadvanced and they end up switching into easier majors and theydon't do as well on the bar exam or the medical licensing exams,""he said.
Due to these unfair policies Joe Colon Puerto Rico Jersey , several universities, includingHarvard, University of Texas and University of North Carolina atChapel Hill, have been sued over allegations that theydiscriminated against certain racial groups.
Shapiro said it may take at least three years before the casearrives before the Supreme Court for a final ruling, but theDepartment of Justice has recently announced that it has launched aprobe into whether universities broke the law with their admissionpolicies.
""Educational administrators have proven again and again thatthey're not simply using race as one factor, it's an overwhelmingfactor in so many cases and they are not being transparent,""Shapiro said.
He said U.S. universities should not use race as a factor duringadmission at all. ""People should be judged on their merits Alex Claudio Puerto Rico Jersey , by thecontent of their character, not the color of their skin, as Dr.Martin Luther King said.""
""It's good to have people with different perspectives but Idon't think skin color or an artificially designated race is a goodway of doing that,"" he added.
In addition, U.S. universities should be more transparent intheir admission processes, because in theory then they should beable to demonstrate that they're following the law, Shapiro said.Enditem
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WINDHOEK Hiram Burgos Puerto Rico Jersey , March 26 (Xinhua) -- China Harbour and Engineering Company has started work on the multi-billion Namibian dollar Southern African Development Community Gateway Port at Walvis Bay in Namibia.
The company has also started building a workers' camp for more than 3,000 people.
The company has embarked on constructing an access road before working on Phase One of the port project, which requires widening the harbour by about 180 metres and creating an access tunnel that will be 16.5 metres deep.
The access road will be used to transport construction equipment and material from the B2 coastal highway to the construction site.
The construction of the port, which is being funded by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, is expected to take about 27 months.
Once the access road is completed, the CHEC will embark on the construction of two tanker berths to replace the old ones that have been in use for more than 50 years.
The project that has started a year ahead of schedule will cater for commodity exports and importers from landlocked SADC countries.
It will include the largest, most modern ship and rig repair yard on the west African coast. It will also have one of the largest gas and oil supply bases in the region; and an undercover dry bulk terminal that can handle more than 100 million tons per year.
In addition Jose Berrios Puerto Rico Jersey , there will be a large vehicle import terminal; multi-purpose and break bulk terminal; liquid bulk terminals consisting of large tank farms and tanker berths; and a container terminal believed to be able to handle two million units per year.
Last year in November, Clive Smith of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group said the development of logistics in Namibia would help towards attaining the goals of Vision 2030, which requires Namibia to reach developmental stages that are critical in generating jobs and moving the economy ahead.
The new port will lead to the development of several ""super hubs"" in Namibia along the main corridors linking Namibia to the SADC region.