Why not the best?

[aztecwin]

Dumbing down the Naval Academy!

townhall.com/columnists/PatBuchanan/2009/07/07/dumbing-down_the_us_navy?page=full&comments=true

THIS COULD BE CALLED THE DUMBING-DOWN OF AMERICA.



Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Dumbing-Down the U.S. Navy
by Pat Buchanan


"Naval Academy Professor Challenges Rising Diversity," ran the headline in The Washington Post.

The impression left was that some sorehead was griping because black and Hispanic kids were finally being admitted.

The Post's opening paragraphs reinforced the impression.

"Of the 1,230 plebes who took the oath of office at the Naval Academy in Annapolis this week, 435 were members of minority groups. It's the most racially diverse class in the nation's 164-year history. Academy leaders say it's a top priority to build a student body that reflects the racial makeup of the Navy and the nation."
Who can be against diversity?

What the Post gets around to is that 22-year English professor Bruce Fleming objects to a race-based admissions program that was apparently used to create a class that is 35 percent minority.

According to Fleming, who once sat on the board of admissions, white applicants must have all As and Bs and test scores of at least 600 on the English and math parts of the SAT even to qualify for a "slate" of 10 applicants, from which only one will be chosen.
However, if you check a box indicating you are African-American, Hispanic, Native American or Asian, writes Fleming, "SAT scores to the mid 500s with quite a few Cs in classes ... typically produces a vote of 'qualified' ... with direct admission to Annapolis. They're in and given a pro forma nomination to make it legit."

If true, the U.S. Naval Academy is running a two-tier admissions system of the kind that kept Jennifer Gratz out of the University of Michigan and was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

"Minority applicants with scores and grades down to the 300s and Cs and Ds also come, though after a year at our taxpayer-supported remedial school, the Naval Academy Preparatory School."

If true, this is a national disgrace. It would represent a U.S. Naval Academy policy of systematic race discrimination, every year, against hundreds of white kids who worked and studied their entire lives for the honor of being appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy and becoming career officers in the Navy or Marine Corps.

If true, what Annapolis has done and is doing is worse -- because it is premeditated and programmed racism -- than the cowardly act of the New Haven city government in denying Frank Ricci and the white firefighters the promotions they had won in a competitive exam.
At least New Haven could say it acted out of fear of being sued.

Yet, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead and the Superintendent of the Naval Academy Vice Adm. Jerry Fowler seem quite proud of what they are doing.
Fleming quotes the CNO as saying that "diversity is the number one priority" at the academy. Fowler says he wants Annapolis graduates who "looked like" the fleet, where 42 percent of enlisted personnel are nonwhite.

The diversity midshipmen, says Fleming, who teaches them, are over-represented in "pre-college lower track courses, mandatory tutoring programs and less-challenging majors. Many struggle to master basic concepts."

Thus, though unqualified for college work, these students will be operating the most sophisticated and complex weapons systems ever built -- aircraft carriers, Aegis cruisers, nuclear submarines.

"First of all, we're dumbing-down the Naval Academy," charges Fleming. "Second of all, we're dumbing-down the officers corps."

Supporting Fleming's claim, 22 percent of incoming plebes in 2009 had SAT scores in math below 600, compared to 12 percent in 2008.

If the facts are as Fleming states -- the academy is accepting dumber and dumber students to get its racial composition right -- who can deny that the price of diversity is deliberate acceptance of a less able and competent United States Navy?
"Diversity is our number one priority," Roughhead is quoted. Can one imagine Adm. Chester Nimitz or "Bull" Halsey making an insipid statement like that? Can one imagine what Adm. David "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" Farragut would have thought of such a policy?

Whatever happened to the Hyman Rickover-Jimmy Carter motto for the Naval Academy and U.S. Navy: "Why Not the Best?"

Consider. If hundreds of black and Hispanic kids who applied to the academy had been rejected though they had higher grades and SAT scores than those admitted, this story would not have been in the Metro section of the Post. It would have been bannered on page one. And Roughead and Fowler would be explaining to a congressional committee why they should not be relieved of their commands.

Fleming, who still teaches at Annapolis, and has likely had some unpleasant moments since he blew the whistle on his superiors, has shown considerable moral courage.
Hopefully, Congress will show the same moxy and investigate this outage.

Hopefully, some of those white kids, cheated out of their life's dream of attending the Naval Academy -- while less qualified kids were admitted -- will sue the academy, just like Frank Ricci and those gutsy firefighters sued the city of New Haven.

[Bob Forsythe]

By my count, 3 of his paragraphs start with "If true". Sorry, but that tells me he's shooting off his mouth without knowing the real story.

=Bob

[AztecWilliam]

Aug 19, 2009 17:39:38 GMT -8 Bob Forsythe said:

By my count, 3 of his paragraphs start with "If true". Sorry, but that tells me he's shooting off his mouth without knowing the real story.

=Bob

In which case he will be slapped down hard by his bosses. We should be hearing any day now that the admin. at the Naval Academy has put forth facts and figures disproving this claim. Further, we will no doubt hear that the complaining prof has been reprimanded or forced to resign.

Or will we? Bob, I agree that we should check on every claim, but I wonder just how stupid this man, a 22 year prof at Navy, would have to be to stick his neck out this publicly if he were not sure of his facts.

Of course, it's also possible that this guy will be forced to walk the plank even if . . . or, perhaps ESPECIALLY if . . . he is correct.

The concept of equality of outcome has permeated much of our culture. For that reason, this kind of stupidity would not surprise me.

Of course, these under-qualified plebes will no doubt flunk out at a higher rate than those with better qualifications. And that would be a shame, since most of those kids would probably have been okay in a more traditional college setting.

AzWm

[Bob Forsythe]

In which case he will be slapped down hard by his bosses.

Pat Buchanan will be slapped down by his bosses? Puleeeze.

Or will we? Bob, I agree that we should check on every claim, but I wonder just how stupid this man, a 22 year prof at Navy, would have to be to stick his neck out this publicly if he were not sure of his facts.

Either that or he's just a bitter old man who isn't being listened to. Please tell me how well you know the guy and why you believe what he's claiming.

Of course, it's also possible that this guy will be forced to walk the plank even if . . . or, perhaps ESPECIALLY if . . . he is correct.

Thanks for that total dis on our military.

The concept of equality of outcome has permeated much of our culture. For that reason, this kind of stupidity would not surprise me.

Written by someone who never had to go through the process now demanded that the ability of students to learn determines how well the teachers teach. But hey, you're retired and I'm sure you now believe that teachers should be judged in that manner.

Of course, these under-qualified plebes will no doubt flunk out at a higher rate than those with better qualifications. And that would be a shame, since most of those kids would probably have been okay in a more traditional college setting.

Oh really? Please make you case that every kid who ever under-performed in high school has been incapable of making it in college. Please explain to me why someone like me, who graduated 625 in a class of 675 from Pt. Loma still managed to get a Masters degree. Please explain to me how George Patton, who finished damn near DFL at West Point became one of our greatest generals.

Your arguments above are bull$#!+, William. Your arguments assume that someone who doesn't do well in an academic setting will never do well in the real world and that is in total contradiction of your political beliefs regarding "elitism" in the academic setting.

I'm sorry, Will, but your arguments often lack internal logic.

=Bob

[AztecWilliam]

Bob, I meant that the Professor would be slapped down hard by his bosses at the Academy. . . if he were speaking falsehoods, or perhaps even if he were revealing embarrassing truths about the Academy.

On another point, you misunderstood what I was trying to say about what would likely happen to many of the lesser qualified candidates who nevertheless were accepted. I have read many times that special admits to prestige colleges have a much higher failure rate. Were these students to attend, let's say, Eastern Washington, Norfolk State or Delaware instead of Harvard, Yale, or Princeton, they would probably do better. No guarantee, of course.

That's not meant to denigrate those students. Far from it. No doubt there are many very good, solid young people among them who will go far in life. Heck, I wasn't a bad student (though not outstanding), but I'm somewhat doubtful that I could have survived at any of the service academies.

As for me, as I recall, I was 37th out of 197 students graduating from H.S. For what it's worth, which isn't much.

AzWm