June 28, 2003
Diversity in the Newsroom

Today's editorial in the Seattle Times commends the Seattle School District's "use of race as one factor in student assignments" with the specious reasoning that

Seattle operates a system in which nearly 90 percent of students receive their first- or second-choice school. Race is one of five factors used in school assignment and it only comes into play for about 10 percent of students.

In those instances when race is used, it doesn't extend a preference to one person while discriminating against another.

Unless everybody somehow gets into their first-choice school, it is mathematically impossible for a preference to give an advantage to one person without also discriminating against someone else.

This unsigned editorial promoting "diversity", is attributed to the Seattle Times's editorial board, whose members are:
James F. Vesely
Carolyn S. Kelly
Frank A. Blethen
Robert C. Blethen
William K. Blethen

You can never have too many Blethens.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at June 28, 2003 02:16 PM
Comments

Unless they are all the product of inbreeding.

Posted by: Ralf Goergens on June 29, 2003 02:25 AM

The Times is (Blethen) family owned, so they're all brothers or cousins (3rd generation). I don't know about the inbreeding part.

This reminds me of that Sacramento politician several months ago who was irate because 50% of the students scored below the district average!

The Times has definitely gone downhill since the strike in 2001.

Posted by: TimF on June 30, 2003 03:56 PM

The times may have gone downhill, but I have subscribed to the P-I since moving to Seattle in 1995 and it has become so leftist I am calling tomorrow to cancel my subscription and switch to the Times. It is absolutely unreadable. I hope I can get a more balanced paper, but the above post is making me wonder.

Posted by: PatrickH on June 30, 2003 10:59 PM
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