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mygif

My favourite recent Macleans garbage was an article complaining that Canadian universities were becoming too “Asian”. in other words students were interested in you know getting an education as opposed to drunk and sleeping with anything that moves.

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mygif

I must respond to the previous commenter. Maclean’s has a distinct taste for the over-the-top cover headline, but the “Too Asian?” story holds up. The quote in question comes from a white student who thinks competing with the eager Asians at big schools is just too much for her. The story’s pretty evenhanded:
http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2010/11/10/too-asian/

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mygif
Mitchell Hundred said on January 17th, 2012 at 10:47 pm

Yeah, that seems to be a common misconception about that article. People think that the problem it was raising was that some universities are too Asian, when in fact the problem it was raising was that people think some universities are too Asian, and are avoiding them as a result. In my opinion that’s a valid concern, as it fuels the stereotypes associated with that race and by extension resentment against the group as a whole (rather than encouraging others to catch up academically, as they should).

Concerning the piece on government waste, I found it particularly interesting how they viewed funding to the arts as a waste of money. I personally don’t mind paying a bit more in tax dollars if it means that new municipal buildings will have a mural or some other work of art on it. Government should work to make our cities more beautiful and enable the flourishing of local culture, and policies like that are a good way of doing so.

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mygif

What on Earth was the word “vaguely” doing in that article ?

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mygif

Everything Coyne does is nausea-inducing. I used to like Macleans long ago (they made good doctors’ office reading, at least), but they’ve become awful.

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mygif

Incidentally, I totally winced the first time I read the “Too Asian” article, because I have a friend named Alexandra who went to Havergal and then Western. Fortunately it isn’t her, because she has no brothers and isn’t a racist jackass.

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mygif

Garfield:

When the article highlights the problem of over competitive students and connects it with the influx of Asian students. Yeah that’s racist. Considering they’re not criticising any white students who work hard and don’t socialise much. I managed to get a 3.8 GPA in my undergrad. I rarely went to the bar. Don’t think I even went skiing. However I’m not considered worrying, I’m of northern European descent. No white students are going to be uncomfortable and going to a “university” with me there.

Mitchell Hundred:

Except the article isn’t pointing out “hey these white kids are racist” instead it’s trying to give the whole thing some sort of intellectual appeal. Referencing the conference in the US for instance. Including by saying the diversity is important but more needs to be done to integrate them into the culture sounds a lot like “please stop being scary to us”.

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