Discernment Versus Discrimination

The issue of exactly who has access to higher education is a thorny one, full of truths, half-truths, and outright lies. Recently, I was reminded of an incident which took place over thirty years ago, before the preponderance of “woke” assertions regarding education became “common knowledge.”

Back in 1992, my son (a white male, by the way) was about to graduate from high school. He had his heart set on attending California Institute of Technology, and it looked very promising that he would end up there. However, to explore his options and to prepare for summer employment – possibly even an internship or two – he applied to a certain government agency for an entry-level summer job in mathematics.

Now, at this point, I should explain that my son was a top mathematician in his high school, holding a place on the Math Team and the It’s Academic Team. In fact, he graduated as valedictorian, and I proudly listened from the stands as he delivered an excellent exhortation to his fellow students regarding their life after high school.

So what happened? My son received a letter informing him that he “didn’t match the standards necessary” to attain the internship. I was floored at the contents of the letter, especially as his father (my husband, of course) was a well-respected employee of said government agency. I am not suggesting that nepotism should have been a factor in the agency’s decision, but common sense certainly should have been a factor. “Like father, like son” comes to mind. My son had proven his dogged determination to attend Cal Tech through four years of exemplary school work. How could the people in charge of the decision have justified such an outcome?

A hint at what was transpiring occurred some weeks later. Quite by chance, I was invited to attend another high school’s Career Day – I was asked to speak as a certified teacher in the State of Maryland about my career thus far. As I recall, there were also two other individuals invited to speak. Being the gregarious individual that I am, I engaged them both in conversation as we waited for our opportunities to speak. Imagine my shock and amazement as I discovered that one of the individuals was a mathematician at the very same government agency that had sent my son the rejection letter! Without revealing my son’s own experience, I asked that man what possibilities a high school student with excellent math skills (acclaimed by both grades and membership on the high school Math Team) had in obtaining an internship at said agency.

“Excellent,” I remember him replying. “They are always looking for good candidates.”

Again, without revealing my own son’s experience, I asked, “Even if they are white, and a male?”

“Oh, yes, certainly,” I distinctly remember him answering. “We don’t discriminate in any way in evaluating our applicants.”

Judging that I didn’t have enough time to deliver my zinger of a reply, I held my peace. However, I recounted the exact conversation to my husband that evening at dinner.

“Honey, it’s not about qualifications,” my wise husband replied. “It’s about quotas. They had filled their quota of white male mathematicians; they were probably looking for females, or Black or Asian individuals. I wouldn’t know.”

I knew he was giving me a straight answer, but I was horrified. What does color have to do with calculus? What does skin have to do with statistics?

In the interests of full disclosure, the agency’s decision did not affect my son’s determination to find his niche and succeed at what he set out to do. After graduating from Cal Tech, he attended Harvard, which awarded him his Ph. D. in 2004. He continues to use his mathematical skills well.

But my outrage at this travesty of “educational justice” continues to this day. Why? Because day after day, I hear about white people (both male and female) who are discriminated against and marginalized in a supposed “equal” society.

God help us. Perhaps we can assist the Almighty in bringing sanity to our society by asking God to help us think correctly and logically. Perhaps we can use discernment (an act of which God approves) instead of discrimination (a sinful tendency).