Wax presumably knew something more than we do of the student’s qualifications in making the statement. But even if she didn’t, how can her assertion that a black student with two Ivy League schools on her resume is likely to have benefited from affirmative action be taken as an insult in a culture that openly defends the positive good and undeniable need for affirmative action to achieve desired levels of minority representation? It is widely known that black students on average have lower GPAs and standardized test scores than whites and Asians, and that their performance relative to other groups remains comparatively low through the college years. How is it an unmentionable transgression for Wax to allude to a set of facts no one who knows the data disputes?
This is where the article lost me. The position stated above is disingenuous. The writer apparently doesn’t understand that something can be true and stated in an insulting or inappropriate way or stated in a demeaning way. Telling a student that they are a double Ivy due to external programs and not talent is inappropriate even if it is true. You don’t demean your students or attempt to tear them down in this way. A person lacking a sufficient amount of tact ought not be a teacher.
Saying inappropriate things to a student and being punished for it is not on par with banning books or banning teaching of certain concepts. This is obvious.