Much of the furor aroused by Polignano's column centered upon his citing the work of Arthur Jensen, professor emeritus of educational psychology at the University of California at Berkeley. Jensen's book The g Factor, suggested the genetic differences of white and black Americans showed the latter group to have a tendency toward lower general intelligence. According to Polignano, his childhood in Frederick, Maryland, with its proximity to Washington and its relatively high crime rate, turned him onto Jensen's work. Since I grew up close to D.C., I always wanted to do a comparison of African Americans to Caucasians because of the crime rate. Despite the controversy surrounding his recent column, Polignano maintains he is not a racist.
Racism implies a hatred and intolerance of different people.
While the study can support racist ideologies, racism would have social laws making people unequal. I believe in seeing and treating people as individuals. Polignano, a biology major and Woodruff Scholar, said he first became interested in biology when he came to Emory. Besides his work in biology, Polignano has found other activities to occupy his time at Emory, notably being a member of the swimming and diving team, with which he has achieved All-America status the last two years. Polignano also cited his 1998 study abroad experience in Vienna, Austria as a memorable Emory experience, in which he took history and culture courses.