FT 15.04 - Frémont Fair College Admissions Act of 2020 (TABLED)

[OBD]

Okay. Initially, I was in support of this act and banning affirmative action. However, after looking at the debate that has sparked across Atlasia in regards to this issue, I cannot deny that affirmative action has a right and reason. As someone who is a transgender gal, and as someone whose boyfriend is an African-American African-Atlasian trans guy, I think it's important for me to understand that within our society, there are certain groups of people who are privileged in life. As someone who is white, and presents as male in real life due to still being in the closet, I receive certain benefits in life that someone who is a woman and/or a person of color may not receive. This also applies to applying for higher education. African-Atlasians, who tend to grow up in lower-income neighborhoods due mostly to systemic oppression that still lingers within our culture, generally tend to have a worse shot at achieving the higher education that they desire. You can try and pretend that we've already fixed racism, or misogyny, or homophobia, or transphobia/enbyphobia, while in reality we are far from done. Until we somehow find a way to be certain that certain minority groups are no longer oppressed, we will still need AA to help level the playing field for those who need it.

I respect your beliefs on the issue, and I'm saddened to see you withdraw your support. That said, I still think there are better ways to address the 'systemic oppression' you referred to than by using affirmative action, which undeniably discriminates against certain Atlasian communities (as a side effect) - I personally favor a solution that HELPS everyone, instead of correcting hurtful racism with more (albeit less hurtful) racism.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I will not object to the amendment, as it is doubtless an improvement on the original bill, though as it stands I am still unable to support this proposal. To be frank, I am not sure the gulf on this bill is narrow enough to be spanned by compromise. For the sake of the argument, however: the only basis on which I could entertain a proposal to end affirmative action in the near future, would be to guarantee a place in our public universities to every student who wants it. Obviously, this would be a great and terrible undertaking, requiring far more elucidation than I have just given; but at a basic level, is not the only way to avoid hurting anyone, to help everyone?

If the members do not wish to go that route, and truly I am not sure myself that it is practical, then we turn to discussion of various measures to end systemic racism in primary education with the aim of eventually making affirmative action obsolete —but it may prove more expedient to attempt such with a new bill, rather than amend this one to remove all resemblance to the original proposal.

[OBD]

While it would probably be feasible to guarantee the right to college for every Frémonter (and we've made huge strides towards this through making college free, ideological objections aside), guaranteeing the right to a specific caliber of college is, in my view, impossible. Even if we had infinite funding, we can't responsibly admit anyone who wants to go to UC Berkeley, to UC Berkeley, and these are the institutions where the presence of affirmative action is most controversial. I also acknowledge the difficulty of finding a compromise. For instance, amending the bill to protect discrimination against all minorities, which would partially remedy the grave injustices perpetuated against Asian-Atlasians, would also add a new angle of racism and move AA into even more questionable constitutional territory. My personally preferred compromise would be to have colleges to admit new classes with ~50% of admissions decided on merit and ~50% decided to match the population composition as best as possible - however, this could be seen as too closely resembling a quota system, implementation could be difficult, and the underlying issues of racism would still be present.

Based on the current political situation in Frémont and Atlasia as a whole, I concur with the First Minister that the best path forward is to combat the racial imbalances that still plague our region, to eventually create a truly equal society where race doesn't define opportunity, and thus render affirmative action unnecessary (though I maintain my belief that affirmative action should be abolished immediately as an institution that promotes racism, and that some concerns caused by it must be resolved in all expediency). I'm more than willing to work with the First Minister to get these initiatives to Frémont lawbooks, and I believe the discussion on this should also include non-educational systems (such as our rapidly devolving criminal justice institutions) that may also inflict racially-charged wrong upon our most vulnerable communities. I ask the First Minister this - would he support affirmative action being gradually phased out as Frémont remedies these glaring wrongs, by, say, 2030? If that's the case, then I feel there's still room for a bill like this (or a package bill that also addresses primary education) to be passed. In any scenario, I would like for Section III.ii, at minimum, to go into effect. While the population subset it affects is small, it sends a clear message that you can't buy your way into our colleges with money or fame. Additionally, we should take steps to ensure that when colleges apply affirmative action, they do so with the solemn intent of giving opportunities to victims of systemic racism, not just arbitrarily doing so to appear 'diverse' or making decisions based on an applicant's last name. While the support for completely replacing the barn doesn't seem to exist, I hope the gentlemen from North Dakota and Guam and the gentlewoman from Iowa are open to fixing some of the barn's rotting wood.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

While it would probably be feasible to guarantee the right to college for every Frémonter [...] guaranteeing the right to a specific caliber of college is, in my view, impossible.

Barring a complete overhaul of higher education as we know it? Most likely. That is why, while I do believe there is some common ground here, I suspect this bill may not be the best vehicle for the sort of reforms that are likely to pass parliament.

Bottom line, I won't vote to repeal affirmative action —whether gradually or all at once —until systemic racism is no longer a relevant consideration in assessing college applicants. So while I'm not adverse to gradual repeal in theory, such would need to be accompanied either by (a) reforming the way we think about applications, or (b) eliminating racism in primary education. The second is obviously a taller order, but I suspect many would not be on board with the former. In any case, I'm not willing to commit to a date without having a plan in place, and probably not 2030 regardless.

[OBD]

Here's a draft amendment:

Frémont Fair College Admissions Act of 2020

AN ACT to work towards ‘leveling the playing field’ in the admissions process for Frémont colleges by protecting applicants from being discriminated against on the sole basis of being a member of a ‘protected class’.

Section I (Title)
i. The long title of this act shall be, the “Frémont Fair College Admissions Act of 2020”. It may be cited as the “Affirmative Action Repeal Act”, or as “FFCAA”.

Section II (Definitions)
i. A protected class is defined as a group of people qualified for special protection from discrimination.
ii. In the context of this act, the following groups are classified as protected classes.
  a. Race
  b. Self-Identified Gender
  c. Sexual Orientation
  d. Religion
iii. In the context of this act, ‘next-of-kin’ refers to all siblings, parents/guardians, grandparents, siblings of parents, and their children, as recognized by the Census Bureau.

Section III (Protections)
i. Any publicly funded college or university in the Commonwealth of Frémont is hereby banned from usingallowed to use status as a member of a protected class as a factor in admissions, but only as a way to balance out the effects of past and current systemic discrimination and grant critical opportunities to those disadvantaged communities most affected by it. In addition, all college admissions officers will be encouraged to have a comprehensive understanding of the effects of the institutionalized discrimination mentioned above before making admissions decisions, and using status as a member of protected class in admissions without proper consideration will be strongly discouraged.   in any form whatsoever.
ii. Additionally, any publicly funded college or university in the Commonwealth of Frémont is hereby banned from:
  a. considering charitable donations from the applicant’s next-of-kin,
  b. considering the social status (fame) of the applicant, or
  c. considering the social status (fame) of the applicant’s next-of-kin in the admissions process.
ii. Failure to abide by this law shall result a fine not exceeding $25000 for any individuals involved in any form of discrimination in college admissions outlined in Section III.i and Section III.ii. If the university as a whole is involved the judgement and fine will be determined by the courts. The money in this fine from the university will be deducted from the next year's budget.
iii. A publicly funded university shall be defined as one where at least 20% of funding for the university comes from the government.
iv. Private universities shall not be affected by this law.
v. The process of granting academic and need-based scholarships shall not be affected or regulated by this act.
vi. Once there is reasonable evidence suggesting that systemic discrimination no longer influences the relative merit of college applicants in a significant manner, this body will revisit this issue with the intention of phasing out affirmative action policy.

Do the modifications made (language concerns aside - I'm open to changes on that front) satisfy the First Minister, the gentlemen from Guam, and/or the gentlewoman from Iowa? While I am not eager to modify the spirit of the bill in this manner, public opinion in Frémont as well as a clear opposition to this bill within this body have left me with no other option.

[OBD]

This act may very well become redundant soon, so motion to table.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I second the motion.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

Sorry about not seeing this. Opening a vote to table. A two-thirds majority is required.

Aye.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Aye.

[OBD]

Aye

[Continential]

Aye

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

Motion to Table
Frémont Fair College Admissions Act of 2020 - Frémont Parliament Bill 15.03 - Sponsored by Oregon Blue Dog, MFP
Motion by Oregon Blue Dog, MFP

	LAB	PAX	IND	TOTAL
Aye	3	1	0	4
Nay	0	0	0	0
Abstain	0	0	0	0
Not Present	0	0	1	1

	FF	TR	ML	UL	TOTAL
Aye	1	1	1	1	4
Nay	0	0	0	0	0
Abstain	0	0	0	0	0
Not Present	0	0	1	0	1

First Minister HARRY S TRUMAN of North Dakota (LAB/FF)
Mr. AUSTRALIANSWINGVOTER of Washington (IND/ML)
Mr. ISHAN of Guam (LAB/UL)
Ms. KOOPADAQUICK of Iowa (PAX/TR)
Mr. OREGON BLUE DOG of Oregon (LAB/ML)

Four in favor, one not present. The two-thirds majority is met, and the bill is tabled.