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Editor:
In a recent letter, one student said that white women have benefitted the most from affirmative action. Pardon me for sounding like a Freshman Comp instructor, but can you back that up? My experiences haven't indicated that all that much has changed for women in general.
Have you ever had an employer ask you questions relating to yourethnicity in a job interview? I've been asked if I was married or had a boyfriend, and if I planned on getting pregnant, by a professor here on campus during an interview. Did I tell him off, or file discrimination charges? Nope -I needed the job. To be honest, while outlawing such questions is the right message for the government to be sending, I'd just as soon know up front if I'm dealing with a sexist. If I end up having to take the job, at least I know what I'm up against.
Have you ever had a professor tell you a classmate wouldn't succeed because of his ethnicity? I had a professor here on campus tell me my female classmate probably wouldn't finish her BS because she'd end up married. Thatprofessor is now a high-level administrator for the UA. The funny thing is, my friend did get married, but she not only finished her BS-she finished her PhD before her husband did.
Have you ever had co-workers sit right by your desk and talk about how stupid people in your ethnic group are? I worked at one place where the men were always standing around talking about their wives and how stupid women are.
Once I even heard a supervisor say to his female employee, "Is this going to make you upset? Because if you're upset, I'm upset, just like with my wife!"
He then went on to ignore the female employee, while he talked with her male co-worker about how stupid women are.
The worst case of sexism I've seen was when I worked for a male boss who shamelessly came on to my female supervisor, while I'd be standing there waiting to talk with her. One of his least subtle come-ons followed her announcement that she had finally gotten an assay she was developing to work: He told her she "had a nice ass [pause] -ay".
If these are the benefits of affirmative action for women, maybe we need a new game plan.
Linda Wilson
computer science senior
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