Promise and Dilemma Lowe, Eugene Y., Jr
2021, 1999, 1999-04-14, Volume:
32
eBook
Issues of diversity and affirmative action have turned elite higher education in the United States into contested terrain. Rights revolutions in the country have raised hopes that have proved ...difficult to fulfill. Most particularly, expectations about access and opportunity--redressing the unfairness of the past--have collided with widely held beliefs: that educational institutions should treat each person fairly as an individual and should promote high academic standards. Promise and Dilemma gathers the reflections of a group of leading educators on whether and how objectives of diversity, equity, and excellence can be simultaneously pursued. Empirical in orientation, these essays focus on constructive proposals and on the role of social and political consensus. Furthermore, they contrast what we believe we know with what empirical data and institutional experience can teach us. Eugene Lowe's substantive introduction reviews the history of the practice of affirmative action in colleges and universities. The other essays are by L. Scott Miller of The College Board; Mamphela Ramphele, vice chancellor of the University of Cape Town; Neil J. Smelser of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford; and Claude M. Steele of Stanford University. Also included are commentaries by Randall Kennedy, Harvard Law School; Richard J. Light, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Chang-Lin Tien, the University of California, Berkeley; and Philip Uri Treisman, the University of Texas.
Issues of diversity and affirmative action have turned elite
higher education in the United States into contested terrain.
Rights revolutions in the country have raised hopes that have
proved ...difficult to fulfill. Most particularly, expectations about
access and opportunity--redressing the unfairness of the past--have
collided with widely held beliefs: that educational institutions
should treat each person fairly as an individual and should promote
high academic standards. Promise and Dilemma gathers the
reflections of a group of leading educators on whether and how
objectives of diversity, equity, and excellence can be
simultaneously pursued. Empirical in orientation, these essays
focus on constructive proposals and on the role of social and
political consensus. Furthermore, they contrast what we believe we
know with what empirical data and institutional experience can
teach us. Eugene Lowe's substantive introduction reviews the
history of the practice of affirmative action in colleges and
universities. The other essays are by L. Scott Miller of The
College Board; Mamphela Ramphele, vice chancellor of the University
of Cape Town; Neil J. Smelser of the Center for Advanced Study in
the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford; and Claude M. Steele of Stanford
University. Also included are commentaries by Randall Kennedy,
Harvard Law School; Richard J. Light, John F. Kennedy School of
Government, Harvard University; Chang-Lin Tien, the University of
California, Berkeley; and Philip Uri Treisman, the University of
Texas.
The essays and commentaries in this volume on racial diversity and higher education are grouped into three parts. The first offers a broad perspective and an historical review of the complex history ...of the United States' effort to achieve racial diversity; the second notes empirical studies of the extent of racial disparities in academic preparation and performance; and the third considers racial diversity from a broad societal viewpoint. The essays and commentaries are: (1) "Promise and Dilemma: Incorporating Racial Diversity in Selective Higher Education" (Eugene Y. Lowe, Jr.); (2) "Promoting High Academic Achievement among Non-Asian Minorities" (L. Scott Miller); (3) "A Threat in the Air: How Stereotypes Shape Intellectual Identity and Performance" (Claude M. Steele); (4) "A Practitioner's View from Texas: Comments on the Essays by L. Scott Miller and Claude M. Steel" (Philip Uri Treisman); (5) "Assessment and Student Diversity: Comments on the Essays by L. Scott Miller and Claude M. Steele" (Richard J. Light); (6) "Equity and Excellence--Strange Bedfellows? A Case Study of South African Higher Education" (Mamphela Ramphele); (7) "Facing the Dilemmas of Difference: Comments on the Essay by Mamphela Ramphele" (Randall Kennedy); (8) "Problematics of Affirmative Action: A View from California" (Neil J. Smelser); and (9) "What a University Can Learn and Teach about Conflict and Difference: Comments on the Essay by Neil J. Smelser" (Chang-Lin Tien). An epilogue by the editor completes the volume. (Individual papers contain references.) (DB)
Most physicians recognize that the ingestion of lye is associated with severe esophageal damage. It is much less widely known that gastric injury is the predominant finding when acid is ingested. We ...are reporting on five patients who had severe gastric damage after ingestion of diluted sulfuric acid (three cases), capsules of potassium hydroxide, and Clinitest tablets (one case each). Fiberoptic endoscopy was used to localize the extent and severity of injury and to follow the evolution of the damage. The extent and location of injury varied with the amount and type of agent ingested. Acid ingestion resulted in severe gastritis, which eventually led to antral stenosis and gastric outlet obstruction requiring operative intervention in two cases. Potassium hydroxide capsules produced diffuse esophagitis, gastritis, and a non-healing large gastric ulcer. Clinitest tablets produced distal esophagitis and stricture and antral damage leading to gastric outlet obstruction which required operative intervention. These cases demonstrate the natural history of corrosive injury to the stomach and the value of fiberoptic endoscopy in the management of this problem.
