Class, Not Race-Based Preferences

Douglas Lin's letter to the editor (Nov. 5) is so confused, so oblique--where do I begin?

He begins by arguing that black and Hispanic communities have occupied a lower rung on the ladder of wealth. Clearly this is true. Then, he states the obvious: there is a dearth of opportunities for poor blacks and Hispanics, opportunities that are available for the "richer section" of society.

Then he points to white children who have parents who read to them, and stresses how much an advantage this is.

Now, given a great number of blacks and Hispanics are poor, and given that the poor typically have fewer opportunities, and further given that children who are read to wield an advantage, the issue clearly lies not in race, but rather in class. The poor with fewer opportunities will on average suffer in competing with richer counterparts, and this is true regardless of race.

Lin continually and freely uses terms like "opportunity," "rich" and "poor" in describing races, arguing that "whites and Asians have more opportunities." Lin is blind to the simple fact that it is rich whites and Asians who have more opportunities, not whites and Asians regardless of socio-economic background. Rich blacks and Hispanics can take Kaplan courses. Poor whites and Asians cannot.

Admissions officers should stop grouping applicants by race and start focusing on the truly disadvantaged--the poor.