The Hemisphere Room of Hale Library was full Thursday night as Mark Peterson, associate professor and department chair of political science at Washburn University in Topeka, presented a lecture about the origins of affirmative action and the present state of equal-opportunity employment.

The lecture was the 31st presentation in the Dorothy L. Thompson Civil Rights Lecture Series. The series memorializes the contributions Thompson made to the advancement of civil rights at K-State and nationwide.

Peterson began by describing the life of Topeka native Arthur Fletcher, who is considered the father of affirmative action. Peterson, who is currently working on a biography of Fletcher, said he recorded 11 hours of dialogue with him.

Fletcher passed away in July 2005 at the age of 80. He served in the Nixon administration as the assistant secretary of labor. Fletcher later served as the executive director of the United Negro College Fund for four years. The phrase "A mind is a terrible thing to waste" was coined during his tenure at the UNCF.

Peterson described his interest in affirmative action as the result of a chance encounter with Fletcher three years before his death.

He stressed the idea that many companies, in an attempt to support affirmative action initiatives, try to hire people in a manner that will make their work-force diversity more representative of the community in which the company is based.

In selecting participants for a summer physics research program, Larry Weaver, professor of physics and member of the lecture series committee, said he is conscious of the diversity of his participants.

"I am trying to be fair, recognizing that I have pre-existing biases," Weaver said.

Peterson said affirmative action is now generally accepted as good business in the work force.

Following the lecture, Peterson fielded questions focused on the practical application of and concerns about affirmative rights in the workplace and university admissions. He denied any legitimacy in the claim that admitting or hiring minority applicants lowers the quality of work or dilutes the selectivity of the school.

Peterson said that affirmative action does not require hiring or admitting inferior students or employees. He went on to say that preference to a minority applicant is only granted when two applicants are comparable and, most importantly, the organization has identified a need to better represent a particular group.

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6 comments

Your name

Tue Apr 14 2009 11:35

Affirmative action should no longer apply now as a minority has been voted into the highest office in the US by the majority. This alone makes affirmative null and void.

Stand back and seer

Mon Apr 13 2009 20:18

When brought to Professor Peterson's attention that choosing a black applicant over a white applicant even if they score exactly the same on a entrance exam is discrimination against whites, he did not deny it but instead insisted that discriminations must be made. This is a valid statement but only when applied to the content of someone's character, which can be worked on and improved, but not when it is applied to the color of one's skin, which can not be worked on or improved. Prof. Peterson didn't directly attack this claim but instead insisted on certain discriminations being allowed to reflect the community. Affirmative action, under Prof. Peterson's regime, is not to reach equality for all races, to be judged on one's character and skills but not color, as MLK Jr. once dreamed. This movement, if it doesn't change tactics and path, will burst right through that initial goal to the point where a Advancement of White Peoples group will be needed so that whites are not unfairly discriminated against based on their pale skin. It is time for an affirmative action revolution.

ShirleyJ

Mon Apr 6 2009 10:14

Professor Peterson is to be commended for his research on a venerated American, Arthur Fletcher. A black Republican, Fletcher is the father of efforts to remedy the effects of discrimination that excluded qualified minorities from opportunities in the workplace. Those who oppose affirmative efforts to give all a chance to compete are merely trying in vain to perpetuate the status quo in order to preserve the preferences that they have enjoyed for centuries.

Your name

Mon Apr 6 2009 00:28

They have a very wide definition of "comparible." As in considering 99th percentile approximately equal to 70th.

Your name

Sat Apr 4 2009 13:52

Prof. Quotas,

Instead of, "He went on to say that preference to a minority applicant is only granted when two applicants are comparable and, most importantly, the organization has identified a need to better represent a particular group." How about judging people as individuals, instead of as "representatives" of whatever racial box you decide to put them in?

The nation's new - terrorist friendly - AG said that regarding race relations America is a "nation of cowards." Prof. Quota is one of the gutless worms, as he - and K-State - will never, ever support an open and honest debate on Affirmative Racism. Instead he and the university continue with their monologue of Politically Correct cant and lies.

Squishy Peterson

Fri Apr 3 2009 12:58

What, provide both sides of a controversal issue! What do you think K-State is; an educational institution? I'm coming to K-State to give the revealed Truth to all the little undergrads. Your job is to just shut-up and obey.

Collegian, don't forget to delete this comment as thoughtcrime.

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