I must have missed something in this interview. I thought it was awful. With all due respect he really sounds like a blowhard who lives under an ivy-coated rock. How about a roundtable or debate between him and someone like Glenn Loury, John McWhorter, Shelby Steele, or anyone else who isn’t scared to say that eliminating race-based admissions is a good thing?
I must have missed something in this interview. I thought it was awful. With all due respect he really sounds like a blowhard who lives under an ivy-coated rock. How about a roundtable or debate between him and someone like Glenn Loury, John McWhorter, Shelby Steele, or anyone else who isn’t scared to say that eliminating race-based admissions is a good thing?
Very much agree. Frankly, he sounded a lot like Anthony Fauci, equivocating on every question. As with Janet Yellen, I used to have a high regard for Larry Summers, but this was not an impressive interview for him.
Also, the elite universities were quick to decry the Supreme Court’s decision on “affirmative action” claiming it would damage diversity. Yet those same schools seem very focused on destroying diversity of both thought and speech — diversities that universities should value most highly.
I agree. He was completely disingenuous. At one point I think he said he thought the data on the discrimination against Asians in the case was overstated, but he had no control on admissions anyways. Bari tried to press him, but he took no responsibility for his role.
I suffered through it in the spirit of hearing more opinions. He's out of touch for sure, after all, isn't he the guy pushed for Biden's "inflation reduction act?"
Concur. His rambling defense of the policies that put Harvard and North Carolina in the hot seat with the Supreme Court was poor at best. While I do agree that "private" institutions should be able to set their own policies, I'm not sure that Harvard or any of the elite universities fit that definition anymore. There is a lot of public monies that pour into them, and there should be just as much oversight of them as any "public" institiution.
I couldn’t get past his catastrophizing about the end of race-based admissions. Shelby Steele changed my mind on that - there’s nothing more smug or elitist than saying “whites got you into this mess, and only whites can get you out of it”.
The entire conversation presupposes that minorities can’t get into elite universities or find success of their own accord; affirmative action means that they’ll only find success when whites are good and ready to give it them. It’s incredibly insulting, and it’s pure racism.
Ugh. “These people” (i.e., the Woke elite) all pay fealty to the dogma via specific vocabulary. It’s so pretentious, and exposes their biases, even when they’re trying to be “balanced” and “fair”.
Re: a summer job in archeology, he says: “Is that a really interesting, valuable experience our class wants to include, or is that a particular bauble that their parents’ good fortune enabled them to obtain?” What an assumption! As if people without major money don’t have the initiative to find unique opportunities like working abroad. Maybe they financed the trip by working as a server?
“ And I’m not aware of any real concern that our admissions process has become a victimhood Olympics.” Hmmmm, any REAL concern…apparently, he needs to get out more, because the across-the-board lowering of standards (see CA’s new math, for example) is 100% about the victimhood olympics!
I don’t find it presumptuous. It’s the truth. It may not be in the future, but it is right now. There is no equity for summer jobs overseas in archaeology. I believe in speaking truth, rather than joining the equity train, and ignoring what is right before my eyes. So call me presumptuous, but I would bet on it.
It's the chicken and the egg. Why do kids do these experiences and participate in clubs, etc., develop a robotic arm ... ? Because those are the types of students who are being accepted at the universities. They say they want to see leadership and service, so students strive for that because students who do those types of things are getting into elite schools. Schools should stop asking for those types of things if they find it suspect. They've been part of creating the system he now finds suspect.
I missed it to, he sounded like a privilege punk who had been gifted an elite education, and then has the chutzpah to come and tell TFP and us who subscribe, how we should go about admitting students to these elite universities
Agree completely - this is perhaps the only interview of Bari's where I quickly became entirely unsympathetic with the guest. He sounds very out of touch and equivocated when asked about what he could have or would have done differently. Additionally, they didn't talk at all about the role universities play in skyrocketing tuition and why they have no skin in the game for the college loan pyramid scheme. I see the value in higher education and am an absolute proponent of meritocracy, although it is rational to consider lived experience. What we don't have at universities (and I have and have had kids at Stanford, Yale, University of Texas, Southern Methodist University) is diversity of thought. Really could have used much tougher questioning.
Actually Larry Summers is one of the more rational of the out-of-touch elites. You may remember he predicted this inflation when no one else was listening. He was run out of Harvard for daring to suggest an open dialogue on why women aren't well represented in the sciences. I don't agree fencing and crew should be eliminated. These athletes can't make the basketball or football teams. Larry should read "Boys in the Boat" about our 1936 Olympic rowing team.
Terrific book! Now that I think about it, crew members are predominantly white & European, while fencers are predominantly Asian - so perhaps that is another race whistle. Higher education is quite the mess.
He's was the only leftwing economist who was raiding concerns about inflation. Recall there were several on the right who predicted it when the bills were being debated.
I must have missed something in this interview. I thought it was awful. With all due respect he really sounds like a blowhard who lives under an ivy-coated rock. How about a roundtable or debate between him and someone like Glenn Loury, John McWhorter, Shelby Steele, or anyone else who isn’t scared to say that eliminating race-based admissions is a good thing?
Very much agree. Frankly, he sounded a lot like Anthony Fauci, equivocating on every question. As with Janet Yellen, I used to have a high regard for Larry Summers, but this was not an impressive interview for him.
Also, the elite universities were quick to decry the Supreme Court’s decision on “affirmative action” claiming it would damage diversity. Yet those same schools seem very focused on destroying diversity of both thought and speech — diversities that universities should value most highly.
100% agree. How very ironic. That would have been a great follow up question by Bari.
I agree. He was completely disingenuous. At one point I think he said he thought the data on the discrimination against Asians in the case was overstated, but he had no control on admissions anyways. Bari tried to press him, but he took no responsibility for his role.
I suffered through it in the spirit of hearing more opinions. He's out of touch for sure, after all, isn't he the guy pushed for Biden's "inflation reduction act?"
yes! I forgot that was him! thanks for connecting the dots.
Concur. His rambling defense of the policies that put Harvard and North Carolina in the hot seat with the Supreme Court was poor at best. While I do agree that "private" institutions should be able to set their own policies, I'm not sure that Harvard or any of the elite universities fit that definition anymore. There is a lot of public monies that pour into them, and there should be just as much oversight of them as any "public" institiution.
He IS a blowhard living under an Ivy rock. That out of the way, what did you disagree with?
I couldn’t get past his catastrophizing about the end of race-based admissions. Shelby Steele changed my mind on that - there’s nothing more smug or elitist than saying “whites got you into this mess, and only whites can get you out of it”.
The entire conversation presupposes that minorities can’t get into elite universities or find success of their own accord; affirmative action means that they’ll only find success when whites are good and ready to give it them. It’s incredibly insulting, and it’s pure racism.
Ugh. “These people” (i.e., the Woke elite) all pay fealty to the dogma via specific vocabulary. It’s so pretentious, and exposes their biases, even when they’re trying to be “balanced” and “fair”.
Re: a summer job in archeology, he says: “Is that a really interesting, valuable experience our class wants to include, or is that a particular bauble that their parents’ good fortune enabled them to obtain?” What an assumption! As if people without major money don’t have the initiative to find unique opportunities like working abroad. Maybe they financed the trip by working as a server?
“ And I’m not aware of any real concern that our admissions process has become a victimhood Olympics.” Hmmmm, any REAL concern…apparently, he needs to get out more, because the across-the-board lowering of standards (see CA’s new math, for example) is 100% about the victimhood olympics!
At least he didn’t trash the SATs…
That not aware line stood out to me as well.
I don’t find it presumptuous. It’s the truth. It may not be in the future, but it is right now. There is no equity for summer jobs overseas in archaeology. I believe in speaking truth, rather than joining the equity train, and ignoring what is right before my eyes. So call me presumptuous, but I would bet on it.
It's the chicken and the egg. Why do kids do these experiences and participate in clubs, etc., develop a robotic arm ... ? Because those are the types of students who are being accepted at the universities. They say they want to see leadership and service, so students strive for that because students who do those types of things are getting into elite schools. Schools should stop asking for those types of things if they find it suspect. They've been part of creating the system he now finds suspect.
I missed it to, he sounded like a privilege punk who had been gifted an elite education, and then has the chutzpah to come and tell TFP and us who subscribe, how we should go about admitting students to these elite universities
Agree completely - this is perhaps the only interview of Bari's where I quickly became entirely unsympathetic with the guest. He sounds very out of touch and equivocated when asked about what he could have or would have done differently. Additionally, they didn't talk at all about the role universities play in skyrocketing tuition and why they have no skin in the game for the college loan pyramid scheme. I see the value in higher education and am an absolute proponent of meritocracy, although it is rational to consider lived experience. What we don't have at universities (and I have and have had kids at Stanford, Yale, University of Texas, Southern Methodist University) is diversity of thought. Really could have used much tougher questioning.
Why were you expecting honesty from a career diplomat? The former president of Harvard is unlikely to speak out.
Actually Larry Summers is one of the more rational of the out-of-touch elites. You may remember he predicted this inflation when no one else was listening. He was run out of Harvard for daring to suggest an open dialogue on why women aren't well represented in the sciences. I don't agree fencing and crew should be eliminated. These athletes can't make the basketball or football teams. Larry should read "Boys in the Boat" about our 1936 Olympic rowing team.
Diversity of sport is a good thing. Dumb to cancel some sports because not everyone can do them - noone is cut out for every sport.
Terrific book! Now that I think about it, crew members are predominantly white & European, while fencers are predominantly Asian - so perhaps that is another race whistle. Higher education is quite the mess.
He's was the only leftwing economist who was raiding concerns about inflation. Recall there were several on the right who predicted it when the bills were being debated.
Diversity of thought, oh my!