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Arguments Against Affirmative Action

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Affirmative Action
The use of race as a factor in the process of college admissions has been and continues to be a hotly debated topic. Every high school that has taken a basic civics class has most likely heard of affirmative action. Even if they aren’t entirely familiar with the name “affirmative action” many are familiar with the goal of these programs whether they know it or not. Affirmative action is a Government (or private) program designed to redress historic injustices against specific groups by making special efforts to provide members of these groups with access to educational and employment opportunities (“Affirmative Action: Crash Course Government and Politics #32.”). Although much of what we hear about affirmative action as high …show more content…

Although companies and institutions that receive federal funding were required to have affirmative action programs, many believe that quota programs were the wrong way to go about doing it. With quota programs, there was the potential that minority candidates would be picked over more qualified candidates simply for the sake of meeting the admissions quota. Since the passing of E.O 11246, in order to be qualified for the benefits of affirmative action, one must meet two requirements. First, one has to be a member of a group that has been historically underrepresented at that place of employment or academic institution; also, one must otherwise be qualified for the job or enrollment (West). The problem with quota programs is by admitting minority students to a limited pool of positions just to fill a quota, over those who are more qualified, they violate the second requirement of affirmative action since they would not “otherwise be qualified” for enrollment over the other students. Because of this, in 1978, after receiving his second rejection letter from the University of California Davis Medical School, a man by the name of Allan Bakke, who was a very qualified candidate, sued the U.C Davis on the basis that their quota program violated his rights. The court decided that quota programs were a failed means of upholding affirmative action and ruled that it was a violation of the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. In the end, U.C Davis and many other schools ended their quota programs in favor of a more holistic means of assessing candidates in which race did play a factor --thus still adhering to the affirmative action laws-- but not as severe as in quota programs (Colonial Williamsburg’s Nutshell History: Affirmative

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Summary Of A Troublesome Inheritance By Nicholas Wade

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We have seen in the past four decades race-based affirmative action programs that have arisen and fitfully developed through judicial challenges. As in most case, the best of intentions do not always lead to positive outcomes. Nothing could be more apt in describing the perilous position we have bestowed upon millions of minority students who have been admitted to higher learning institutions under the auspices of diversity. As illustrated by the standardized test and GPA numbers in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, the students admitted to the medical school of UC-Davis under their affirmative action policy were extraordinarily less qualified when compared to the student body as a whole. This not only unfairly displaced white and Asian students who would have otherwise been admitted to those spot on merit but also places those underperforming students in an environment in which they are destined to fail.

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Part III applies the Court’s precedent to the University’s affirmative action policy and concludes that the policy violates the Equal Protection Clause. Part IV examines the impact of Fisher II on existing affirmative action policies and concludes that the Court’s holding will be narrowly crafted and thus negligibly impact other policies. In addition, Part IV asserts that the Court’s affirmative action jurisprudence should be fundamentally altered because it fails to adequately guide lower courts, legislatures, and litigants concerning the permissible scope of affirmative action policies. As discussed in Part IV, a more effective—and honest—approach would be to acknowledge that: (1) diversity is an essential part of ensuring inclusion in higher education and the workplace; (2) remedying past discrimination is a compelling state interest; and (3) in limited circumstances race may be a dispositive factor in the admissions or hiring process. The Court’s current framework, although well-intentioned, ignores these realities and tries to quantify the role of race in admissions – a task that is impossible and

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The Truth About Holistic College Admissions By Sara Harberson

1802 Words | 8 Pages

As Ratana explained, “It is unconstitutional for any institution to employ a racial quota under the Equal Protection Clause. Also, state laws do not supersede the law of the land. Affirmative action just factors in race as one of the many criteria that institutions use in the consideration of who to admit into colleges and employ”. One of the main purposes of the Affirmative action policy was to create a more diverse community. However, some universities have argued by saying that the ban of the policy is so that they can ensure a diverse community.

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'Affirmative Action Policy Is Unconstitutional' By Daniel Hung

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This law also ensures diversity on campus, and on top of that affirmative action is still used for the remaining students that are not at the top 10% of their class (Hung). Evidently, race plays a crucial role in the admission decisions. Hung claims that race shouldn’t play such a big role in the admission process because it is considered discrimination. He supports this argument by comparing the average GPA and SAT scores of those students that were granted admission but were not in the top 10 percent of their class. African Americans had the lowest averaged scores, followed by Hispanics, then whites, and then Asian Americans.

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The main precedent that has stuck with the court from Bakke to now Fisher is that a diverse student body is a compelling enough interest for a university to pursue. This goal is to be carried out in a narrowly tailored manner which the court has accepted as a race-conscious admissions program. The program is deemed constitutional on the basis that it only uses race as a plus factor in the admissions process. These programs, however, run in stark contrast to the provisions set forth in the Equal Protection Clause; in which the state is not allowed to treat individuals differently based on the category of race. The race-conscious admissions program albeit better than a pure quota system still uses race as a crucial factor.

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In order to access higher education, most educational institutions require applicants to list their race as a component to their admissions decision. Affirmative action established this factor to provide equality for ethnic minority students. However, since the process primarily benefits minorities, Caucasian applicants such as Allan Bakke and Abigail Fisher have challenged the ideals of affirmative action, claiming that racial components instead served as a factor for their college rejections. The consistent amount of affirmative action cases has motivated some educational institutions to question their stance on racial admission components. While certain scholars argue that affirmative action promotes equality, other experts argue that it

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The Pros And Cons Of Affirmative Action

1592 Words | 7 Pages

Discrimination, no matter if it is towards whites, blacks, or any other ethnicity, should never be allowed. This makes affirmative action an unfair system that should be abolished (Economist). Furthermore, affirmative action breaks the Civil Rights Act of 1964, while also not following the 14th amendment, both of which state that no person should be given less rights than others (Britannica). It not only hurts those with a harder time getting in, but also those in the minority groups, as they are not fully prepared for what is to come. This causes their grades to drop, ultimately compelling them to either drop out or be unable to graduate.

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1484 Words | 6 Pages

Debates over racial discrimination have been going on since the beginning of America’s existence as a land of freedom. Today, arguments over racial microaggressions and affirmative action continue to plague our country. Affirmative action is a hotly contested racial consideration program that favors certain minorities in college admissions and the workplace. Some argue that any consideration of race discriminates against the majority and violates the Equal Protections Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, while others contend that it takes into consideration the disadvantages suffered by typically lower-class minority families and makes up for past discrimination against minorities. By upholding affirmative action, the Supreme Court ignored data

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751 Words | 4 Pages

“Affirmative action is not about quotas. It’s an attempt to open more opportunities for women and people of color through aggressive recruitment and outreach greater access to academic institutions and the workplace and not exclude people on the basis of race or gender.” (Holhut3) Actions or policy favoring those individuals who are subject to discrimination particularly in relation to employment or education is called Affirmative Action. Although affirmative action is not necessarily a form of equal treatment it is a form of fair treatment. Programs that attempt to break down the wall of segregation that excluded racial minorities and women from workplace and education include quotas, minority scholarships, reverse discrimination, preferential hiring and diversity have all been linked to affirmative action.

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1011 Words | 5 Pages

In reality the policy destroys the camaraderie and team building as unqualified individuals is advanced ahead of those with proven track records. In addition, College Admission boards are also required to screen applications based on quotas that has been established by the affirmative action policy in an effort to promote diversity (James, 2010). American college testing [ATC] and Scholastic Test [SAT] scores are used to forecast future freshman grades and is the basis for entrance into prominent universities.

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1734 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout many of the affirmative action legal cases, one of the main arguments from proponents is that it is necessary in order to right the wrongs of past racial discrimination. Some say that affirmative action is justified because even though white applicants may be more qualified, this is only because they did not face the same hardships as their minority counterparts (Rachels, Ethics, 1973).  Many argue if we do not integrate disadvantaged minorities into mainstream social institutions, they will continue to suffer the discrimination that has plagued our country for centuries and that this is detrimental to not only the minorities but also society as a whole (Anderson, 2002, 1270–71). However, the debate has recently shifted to the benefits of diversity in the classroom which the Supreme Court has affirmed as being a positive thing

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