Ok first of all, it did not pass yet, it's a proposition. It most likely will go through as it is nothing more than a Public Relations move. It will have minimal impact since most of the candidates that fall in that category end up getting a scholarship & grants anyway from the school, government & special organizations based on their financial status.
Second of all, a family making under 40k a year in THIS day and age is lower class family most likely living in the ghetto. In other words, affirmative action obviously aimed at minorities who go to schools that are unfortunately seriously lacking in challenge & quality and hence much easier to stand out at if you have brains & some ambition (although there is a psychological & social barrier to break in those types of schools). A few poor white kids here and there also, but such low income families do get special treatment anyway as I mentioned before. Many scholarships out there aimed at poor kids that have shown academic excellence.
Third of all, Ivy league system is a system for the rich & elite to keep a network among their siblings. Thats how it was set up and that is how it still is at its core. Skull & Bones anybody? Special prep schools have been set up simply for the elite kids to go into Ivy Leagues, they get preferential status and always have.
I personally knew kids that got into Harvard & other Ivy Leagues and could not afford to go because they were not wealthy enough to pay for it, yet also were not poor enough to get the financial assistance. This new PR move does nothing for the likes of them.
I do not even want to get into how much easier it is to get into a school like Harvard if you went to a ghetto inner city school vs going to one of the top public schools where there is serious competition & challenge. It really pays off to be the big fish in a small pond instead of a midsize fish in a big lake.
