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Pros And Cons Of Affirmative Action

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AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IS A NECESSARY TOOL THAT IS NEEDED IN THE COLLEGE APPLICATION PROCESS

Catie Biby
PLS: 135 U.S. Government
March 15, 2023

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IS A NECESSARY TOOL THAT IS NEEDED IN THE COLLEGE APPLICATION PROCESS

Affirmative action has lately seen a surge in popularity for unsatisfactory reasons, with this reason being its use in the college admissions process. Affirmative action has not only just been used in the college admissions process, and it hasn't been a recent idea. This type of action has been used for decades in several institutions, mostly in places of higher education and employment, with its first use being in employment. Its beginning was founded in the early 60s, largely affiliated with the civil rights movement. The idea was first instituted by Executive Order 10925, given by John F. Kennedy, to ensure that government contractors would …show more content…

Research conducted by Wendy Moore points out that the history behind affirmative action was inherently biased towards minorities, although contradictory to its goal. Although she indicates in her article that affirmative action alone will not end the long history of discrimination and inequality in institutions and that affirmative action policies have been diluted in recent times. The latest understanding of affirmative action policies has been widely used as a band-aid to stop further controversies, historically it has also been used as this band-aid to cover centuries of racial inequality, and to show a diverse and fair American culture. For a deeper repair of inequality, affirmative action policies can not be diluted any further. The band-aid-like fix of affirmative action is showing to have an impact, while at times seeming small, the small fixes are still making a difference. With larger steps, not diluting affirmative action legislation, the significance will be

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Affirmative action was designed by the federal government and seemed to be a strong tactic but there are many imperfections in this policy. For example, California vs Bakke is a famous court case based off of reverse discrimination. A white male by the name Allan Bakke was denied admission to The University of California medical school. Instead of picking Bakke the school accepted a less qualified black male because the school must accept at least 16 minorities out of 100 into the medical program. The university uses race as an aid to admit minorities and increase diversity instead of accepting well qualified individuals.

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721 Words | 3 Pages

The U.S. Supreme Court Case Regents of the University of California v. Allan Bakke was officially decided June 28, 1978. The case addressed the issue of use of affirmative action in university admissions processes. Affirmative action, also referred to as positive discrimination, was a result of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and was intended to ensure equal entry to educational institutions or employment entities to certain groups that “have historically suffered invidious discrimination” (Janda et al., 477). However, sometimes this method causes discrimination of other groups, through establishment of racial quotas. University of California employed the process of affirmative action and instituted racial quotas in its admissions

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1556 Words | 7 Pages

Katznelson’s argument that affirmative action policies were enacted with purposeful, deliberate discrimination is convincing. Namely, he considers the historical context that would have shaped Americans at the time and swayed their opinions. For example, Katznelson references the Civil War and the end of slavery, and how these events shaped the attitudes of key players like the Southern Democrats, which would then result in the faulty policies that perpetuated affirmative action’s favoritism of whites. His evidence is sufficient as well. Katznelson highlights the trend of Southern Democrats interfering in affirmative action policies and the footholds they had in specific acts.

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1629 Words | 7 Pages

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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1060 Words | 5 Pages

This standard requires universities to demonstrate that the inclusion of race furthers a compelling governmental interest, and is narrowly tailored to achieve that interest. Of particular importance to the Court is whether “the means chosen ‘fit’ th[e] compelling goal so closely that there is little or no possibility that the motive for the classification was illegitimate racial prejudice or stereotype.” Put differently, universities must demonstrate that including race in the admissions process is necessary to enroll a diverse student body, and is accomplished through means that are reasonably calculated to achieve the educational benefits of

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276 Words | 2 Pages

The civil rights area of the 1960s is over. Affirmative action policies based on racial quotas or preferences have been struck down by the Supreme Court, yet states have an interest in college admission that are diverse and reflect their general population. The University of Texas finds itself defending policies intended to conform to recent court rulings yet merely mentioning race as a factor in a holistic review has drawn a challenge. The University of Texas process of admissions aligns with Gutter V Bollinger. The facts of this case are in keeping with previous court precedents.

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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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480 Words | 2 Pages

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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987 Words | 4 Pages

Thus, often without realizing it, the United States has practiced what, in effect, was white affirmative action on a highly generous and widespread basis, followed by a much more modest program of black affirmative action. By understanding this history, we can come to terms with the widening gap between blacks and whites noted by Lyndon Johnson and with the incapacity of many blacks to be able to make good this gap in the following four decades (Katznelson,

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1106 Words | 5 Pages

After the Brown decision, many institutions of higher education began to desegregate, although the process was slow and uneven. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent legislation further strengthened the legal basis for desegregation in higher education. While affirmative action has been a controversial topic, with some arguing that it is reverse discrimination, others argue that it is necessary to address historical inequalities and create a more diverse and inclusive society (History.com,

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1523 Words | 7 Pages

Another thing that places students of color at a disadvantage in college admissions is the persisting cultural bias in high-stakes testing. “High-stakes” tests are those that are tied to major consequences, such as admission to college, or even high school graduation. Fair education reform advocates have long been citing an extensive record of standardized testing concerns, many of which relate to racial bias and discrimination. As researcher and author Harold Berlak explains in the journal Rethinking Education: Standardized testing perpetuates institutionalized racism and contributes to the achievement gap between whites and minorities. For instance, the deeply embedded stereotype that African Americans perform poorly on standardized tests

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1241 Words | 5 Pages

Race should not be a factor in college admissions because it leads to reverse discrimination, sets double standards, and overlooks class-based issues. One particular reason why race should not be a factor in college admissions is that it will lead to reverse discrimination. To clarify, in President Kennedy’s Executive Order 10925, it states, “it is the plain and positive obligation of the United States Government to promote and ensure equal opportunity for all qualified persons, without regard to race, creed, color, or national origin… The contractor will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin,” (Kennedy). This piece of evidence is important to acknowledge because it defines the original goal of affirmative action.

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1357 Words | 6 Pages

Affirmative action is controversial in the united states. Affirmative action was first spoken of by the Supreme Court in the case of Allan Bakke. Bakke argued that his grades and test scores had ranked him well above many students who had been accepted at the school and that the only likely clarification for his denial was that he was white, whereas those others accepted were black or Latino. Bakke won his case in 1978 before the supreme court and was admitted to the medical school, but he failed in getting affirmative action declared unconstitutional. (Ginsberg et al.

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1028 Words | 5 Pages

According to the dominant theory the affirmative action was firstly introduced to deal with two types of social disruption in the 1960s as campus protests and urban riots in the North. However, this article is based on different theory as dominant theory's empirical evidence is limited. It examines the initial reason for advent of race-conscious affirmative action in 17 undergraduate institutions in the United States. And according to the research this article concludes that there were two waves that contributed to affirmative action: 1) first wave in the early 1960s introduced by northern college administrators 2) second wave in the late 1960s introduced as a response to the protests of campus-based students. This article will help me to establish the main reasons for introduction of race-conscious affirmative action in undergraduate

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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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