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Jack: I've thought somemore about your question and I'm reminded of a couple of things. First, we Canadians are pretty sure that racism is primarily a US concern, not much practiced here in the great white north, so we don't really need affirmative action. This brings to mind the case of an extraordinary young Inuit woman who was admitted to McGill this year only after a concerted effort by many people who explained to the University that their regular standards could hardly be expected to measure the worth or potential of this remarkable person who has worked as a social worker in the ravaged (but healing) villages in arctic Quebec. Reluctantly, she was admitted, and given almost no assistance at all and held to the same requirements as all the well-trained students who came into McGill from via the regular routes. We do not have national programs in affirmative action, and though the education system in the north is slowly but surely staffing schools with teachers who have Inuktitut as their first language (with similar gains being made where there are sufficient numbers of First Nations people), we have done an abysmal job of creating conditions under which a productive collaboration might occur between European and indigenous cultures. (Ann Beer might be able to speak to this, she's been in Iqualuit recently). And we have a growing population of very disaffected people from the Caribbean area who are given no equal treatment, much less an "edge" up through any sort of affirmative action. But I am not certain of our national standards here, or even our university standards. McGill makes no effort to bring anyone but the "best" students, although i believe some effort was made to increase the number of women in Engineering. Anyone else out there with any info on this? Anthony. <<< Jack Selzer <[log in to unmask]> 5/15 9:05a >>> Right on, Anthony. Incidentally, some of us south of the border are pretty ignorant--i.e., me. Could you answer a question for me? Is affirmative action the law of the land in Canada? Jack Selzer At 8:05 AM 5/15/98 -0500, Eric Crump wrote: >Right, Anthony. And that's pretty much why I forwarded the news about US >legislation to a Canadian forum. Didn't mean to offend anyone, but I did >mean to imply that the issues being dealt with by US politicians are >relevant for all and that what the US Congress does might have some >influence elsewhere (whether we like it or not, it does; and many US >citizens aren't any happier about that fact than you are ;) > >A head's up, was all it was. An attempt to let ya know what's afoot down >here, fwiw. > >--Eric Crump [log in to unmask] Jack Selzer, Professor of English Department of English Penn State University University Park, PA 16802 Phone: 814-865-0251 fax: 814-863-7285