[PEN-L:4571] Affirmative action poll data

[dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx (Doug Henwood)]

A follow-up to Elaine McCrate's request for data on public attitudes
towards welfare. A paper surveying US public opinion on affirmative action
from researchers at the University of Cincinatti is available from:

             http://www.uc.edu/~sordc/iprhomepage.html

Here's the abstract:

Abstract

Although media analysts claim that whites' opinions racial
preferences in the marketplace and quotas for admission of
blacks to college have recently shifted to opposition, and
that most of the anger at affirmative action comes from
white males, nationwide polls and surveys between 1972 and
1995 call both assertions into question. First, sex has
little impact on opinions about racial preferences in the
marketplace and admission to institutions of higher
learning. Second, there is no evidence of recent changes in
whites' opinions about racial preference policies. Finally,
survey data suggest that Democratic candidates who are
perceived as favoring affirmative action programs for
blacks may lose significant support among white Democrats.
Several developments have called attention to Americans'
opinions about affirmative action in hiring and promotion
and racial "quotas" for admission to colleges and
universities. First, the GOP's victory in the 1994
elections was said to be due to "angry white males" who are
allegedly outraged by racial and gender preference
policies. Second, the attempt to place a petition on the
1996 California ballot that would outlaw preferential
treatment for women and minorities has received widespread
attention.1 Third, candidates for the 1996 Republican
presidential nomination have called for ending affirmative
action programs.

Doug

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Doug Henwood
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