I was saddened to see that Tara Stroll (“Where did equality go?” page 4, Nov. 14) thinks that affirmative action has caused discrimination against whites. Really?

Well, let’s examine this. Let’s say all things in our country are “equal.” Then the proportion of different races in professional jobs and colleges would be equal to the proportion of different races and ethnic groups in the general population of this country. Does this make sense? It does to me.

Now I’m in the physical therapy program at the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, what I would call a very respected professional program. I look around in my class of 35 and see 30 people who are white, three who are Indian, and two who are Asian. Using demographic statistics provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, if everything were “equal,” 26 students (75 percent) would be white, four (12 percent) would be black, four (12 percent) would be Hispanic and one (four percent) would be Asian. I’m not sure how the law, medical, dental and business programs look here at Boston University, but I’m going to take a stab in the dark and say that they’re not much different. Anyone still thinking whites are being discriminated against?

Some may think, “This is just school. It doesn’t affect the workplace.” How are people supposed to get jobs as lawyers if they don’t go to law school? Medical school is kind of important in becoming a doctor. As a part of my coursework, I’ve done some clinical internships and I’ve worked in hospitals and outpatient clinics. Guess what? All the physical therapists I’ve worked with are white. All the doctors I’ve interacted with are white, too. All the nurses? No surprises here, they are white. Now I’m not sure what law firms and corporate offices look like, but I’ll let you guess. For some reason, I really doubt that whites are being discriminated against.

College admission and retention practices actively shape the society’s workforce. Does affirmative action have a place in higher education? Without a doubt. A college education and professional degrees are the stepping stones to personal and financial success in this country. If the door is shut to minorities at admissions office, how are they supposed to obtain a good job? Affirmative action is NOT a handout. It is a hand-up and there is a HUGE difference between the two.

To the faculty reading this, you may not be involved in the admissions process, but you can make a difference in student retention. Take a look at who’s not passing your classes and dropping out of your programs. Do minorities represent a disproportionate amount in those groups? There’s a great book called What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain. In the second chapter he talks about why some minority students don’t succeed in college and what excellent professors have done to make sure they do. They didn’t give handouts. They provided a hand-up. They set up their classes to ensure everyone succeeded.

Tara’s argument would be justified if this country’s playing field were level. Unfortunately it is not. It has long been slanted by poverty, racism and discrimination. That idea I talked about earlier – the proportions of minorities in the workplace and college being equal – isn’t just me rambling. It’s the principle that affirmative action is based on. Because if everything were equal in our country, the numbers would be, too.

Next time you’re in class, look around and ask yourself whether things are equal and why they’re not. If you oppose affirmative action, come up with a better solution for racial equality. So to answer the question of where equality went, it hasn’t even arrived.

Lisa Hellenbrand Sargent ’06