Open Letter to Emily1

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Rural

Junior Member
15+ Year Member
20+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2001
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
-- I am currently teaching MCAT prep/admissions strategies to a small group of URM students, and I am genuinely interested in helping them to promote themselves best for med schools. I really, really want these kids to get in, because they would all be kickass doctors. Some of their scores are not all that high, however. I feel strongly that their ethnicity IS a significant part of their applications, and that med schools need to work long & hard to recruit people of different races""
That is one of the most ignorant posts I have read on this site. I'm sure this Emily is probably an elitist who goes to a top 5 or 10 med school. As a 2nd year med student who gained admission on his 3rd try I'm outraged that one should be given prefrence just b/c of RAce. I laugh when Emily points out that Race is a factor, REALLY Emily. What if you're indian, chinese, french then is race a factor or is it only if you're black. Emily what do you think of Indian immgrants who come here and their parents work 12 hours a day just at $8/hr just so they can get by. Do you think these people would make "kickass" doctors? Or the chinese immgrant who has to work 7 hours after school everyday in his parents restaurent so they can make a livin then goes hime and studies and speaks chinese at home. Is he or he going to be a "kickass" doctor. I think we should have some way to evaluate a person't background and take that into consideration when making a decesion about admission not just the color of their skin as AA is right now. There are special programs for minorites and their are self-rigteous overachivers like your self who have never lived in the real world or went to sleep not knowing when you were going to next who will always push this extreme agenda. People like you scare me, you're just as bad as Klan members in the 20's and 30's who decided who the "right" people were to vote and where these people could eat and live. In 1896 Plessy vs Fergusson said seperate but equal but we all know if seperate it can't really be equal. This of course was overturned by Brown in 1954. So don't you think that different standards for admissions is essentially supporting the Plessy case. I'm not a persons backround is not relavewnt but the most blacks who apply to med school are middle and upper-middle class. So you're 60's attitude is kind of a joke. If someone's scores aren't up to par then WHY should they be admitted, simply b/c of their skin color. Grow up Emily... I saw on 60 minutes that the Dean of Michigan law school said the discussion in calss abotu racial profiling and arrests for crack cocaine were better discussed in class if there were blacks in that class. My balck friends were offended. What and Why should a middle class black know anything more than any white about crack cocaine. I don't want replies saying I'm racist b/c that is just an easy way to dismiss the arugement, we als know just b/c a person supports abortion doesn't make him or her a murder. The sad thing is this Emily person will be my boss someday and stuff will never change b/c Amercia can't get over the guilt of slavery..Emily I do hope you will read and defend your "childish" statements..
Thank You

Members don't see this ad.
 
This post was a reply to "Accepted URMs..." in PRE-ALLOPATHIC. Any reason you felt EVERYONE needed to see it as it's own thread?

Also, I'm kinda confused what "Emily 1" said that was so inflammatory. Chill out dude, everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
 
Hmm, you need to proofread your grammar and spelling before you post something this long. Also, please separate the paragraphs.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I've got to ask...

Is it just coincidence that your name is "rural," or did you plan that?
 
Rural, if it is true that URMs are much more likely to practice in underserved areas than other physicians (I have read that this is the case, but cannot back it up with documentation), and most state schools have as part of their mission to fulfill the healthcare needs of their state, than I can see a very practical reason for schools to consider race when choosing students. As long as we are talking about encouraging qualified URMs to apply and not just
offering spots to anyone.
 
I see nothing outrageous in Emily1's post. If you needed to apply three different times, I'm sure it wasn't because a black or mexican took your seat. Be honest with yourself.
 
that was the most outrageous post i have ever seen. you know nothing about emily but that one paragraph, and there you go assuming you know her own background. you really have to relax, she said nothing that was meant to offend anyone.
not only that, but your argument is extremely flawed. we are all being accepted because of who we are and because of our backgrounds. you yourself are arguing that schools should look more into this (i think). well, sorry, but i think that our race is part of who we are. it defines us and affects how we see things. do i think that race should be a primary deciding factor in choosing an applicant? not at all. that is unconstitutional, and is not allowed exactly because of Brown vs. Board of Education, which states that seperate facilities/qualifications for different people are inherently unequal.
However, it IS a factor to take into consideration, just like all other factors. this does not go against Brown at all, because there aren't seperate standards for anyone. our whole person is examined, and our race is part of that whole person.
sorry, i let the government major in me slip out for a second, i hope i made sense.
but, in conclusion: CHILL OUT. emily just seemed to be defending a few disadvantaged people.
Keith
 
Originally posted by jmejia1:
•I see nothing outrageous in Emily1's post. If you needed to apply three different times, I'm sure it wasn't because a black or mexican took your seat. Be honest with yourself.•

Well I'm almost positive that you're a URM and of course we need diversity in med school so your sub3 GPA and 7's on MCAT's will probably get you in a top 50 school...

I apoligize for the tone of my last post and yes I probably should have proofread it but I don't think it was wrong to expres my views. It seems like in America we must protect blacks like they are our children. You know they can do whatever they want but we always find a way to justify their actions. The last post was right In Brown it does state that race is factor and I too think it should be considered in admissions BUT we all know if you're a URM the stats are MUCH easier for admission, that is a fact. I don't think we need people like Emily to decide who would and wouldn't be a good doctor just based on their skin color. Isn't she discriminating against non URM's. In my med school all the blacks keep to themselves just like they did in college and high school. This is the ONLY country in the world where we treat blacks as not to offend them and yet the biggest cancer in this country is racism, ummmm.
Emily is NOT Mother Theresa so I don't need her saving the pure and curing the whole world..Hey Emily can we have peace plaese..
 
i'm sorry, rural, but exactly *where* in emily's post do you see her saying that her students will make good doctors *because* they are URMs? all i see her saying is that her students are URMs AND happen to seem, in her opinion, that they would make good doctors. there is no causal relationship here and you are trying to put one in to feed your argument.

and how exactly do you know that jmejia1 is a URM?

also, how exactly can you purport to know anything at all about emily's background based on a single perfectly-innocent post?

you are extremely quick to pass judgment on people you have never met and don't even know. frankly this is a much bigger problem than anything you perceive to be wrong with emily's post.
 
i agree, sandflea. did i hear you call someone else ignorant, rural? these black folks you know sound very interesting. it's fantastic and quite a coincidence that they agree with you 100% ('...my black friends were offended...'). so nice that you were able to get to know each other so well, despite your seeming abhorrance for the actions of their black brothers and sisters ('...we always find a way to justify their actions...'). how on earth did you find the "good" ones? it takes a very mature person to see beyond their desire to 'keep to themselves' and break through! and thank god you know them, so that they can really validate your opinions, seeing as tho they are black, and well, that's important to note. they're the black people you know. i'm glad you "found" each other. i'm sure they're thanking their lucky stars. great!
 
Originally posted by Rural:
•Well I'm almost positive that you're a URM and of course we need diversity in med school so your sub3 GPA and 7's on MCAT's will probably get you in a top 50 school...
.•

Even if Jmejia is a URM, that doesn't mean that he or she has a 21 and below a 3.0. Being a URM doesn't mean that someone has awful stats any more than being a non-trad or a legacy does.

Unless you sit on an admission committee, I would hope you do not pretend to know who does and does not get offered interviews and admissions and based on what scores and other factors. Why don't you sit on your admissions committee and find out exactly what it takes to gain admissions to your school. Then you would have a say in who is considered "unqualified" Or do you prefer to complain and attack anonymously rather than working to change the system which you abhor?

This is the ONLY country in the world where we treat blacks as not to offend them and yet the biggest cancer in this country is racism, ummmm.
Emily is NOT Mother Theresa so I don't need her saving the pure and curing the whole world..Hey Emily can we have peace plaese

I really don't understand what you are trying to say here. Perhaps you were unsuccessful in gaining admissions the first two times because you have difficulty clearly articulating thoughts. Or perhaps your bitterness was quite clear to the admission committee... Of course, you did "deserve" a spot three years ago, right? Your application highlighted your spotless academic career (4.0, MCAT >36), you were published, you had extensive volunteer experience... Be happy that you have acheived your goal and will be a physician someday, move on with your life.

BTW, asking Emily for peace is really a bit ridiculous since you are the one being agressive and jumping to conclusions about the intent of her post.
 
I wanted to briefly voice my opinion about this topic. From reading Emily's statement that was quoted, I feel that the reaction was a bit overboard, though Rural is entitled to his opinion. I'm on the fence over the affirmative action controversy, but I really do not believe that Emily's remarks were inflammatory at all. It seems that she genuinely cares for those students and would really like to see them get accepted. Those students would probably make "kickass doctors" because Emily has gotten to know them very well as a individual, not because they are a minority.

Personally, I was a little disappointed that I didn't see more URM when I was interviewing. It made me think of why that was the case.

BB
 
Top