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Pros And Cons Of Affirmative Action

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Affirmative Action is a complex topic. Affirmative Action was created in order to eradicate or at least reduce discrimination and to make equal opportunity a reality. The pushing of equality is admirable but many people feel it is no longer necessary, that the goal of equal opportunity has already been achieved. That Affirmative Action now only serves to give minorities and women (both qualified and unqualified) an unfair advantage. Is Affirmative Action still needed in today’s world or should it be abolished? Started during the civil rights movement in 1961, Affirmative Action calls for minorities and women to be given special consideration in employment, education and contracting decisions (The beginning and end of Affirmative Action). …show more content…

They argue that the Affirmative Action does not help those who have been discriminated against in the past but instead unjustly rewards them and provides benefits for people who do not deserve them. Further more people believe that the discrimination Affirmative Action strives to erase never occurred or if it ever occurred it has dissipated by now. It is true that in terms of civil equality great strides have been made. However, we still have a long way to go. Black people continue to have the highest unemployment rate as opposed to whites who have the lowest (U.S. Department of Labor). Without affirmative action, the percentage of minority students at most of our more selective colleges would drop significantly. Despite gains made in most aspects of employment and college admissions in the past 25 years, the ratio of white-to-black advantage still remains the same. Many seem to write off minority students who get into universities and colleges with Affirmative Action. These students do not deserve the opportunity any less because they got it with Affirmative Action initiatives. These students have still worked hard for their success. Contrary to the belief that they are under qualified, many minority students have put in even more time and work to prove they deserve a to be recognized. With determination they manage to overcome the racism left behind from another era that constantly questions their intellect and academic capacity. These students may have been granted admissions because of affirmative action, but they will still go on to be some of the most successful doctors, scientists, politicians, artists and teachers of our

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Affirmative action in the United States I believe that affirmative action negatively affects on both minorities and majorities. From a minority’s perspective, the idea that minorities can receive benefits from others due to their race, ethnicity, or gender can cause them to feel segregated against anyway. Since the term, ‘minority,’ no longer applies to every females or person of color today, female students or students of color with affluent backgrounds may feel segregated and devalued even when they did not get any special benefit from affirmative action policies. Majorities, in this case, male or white students, will also get discouraged because this can be regarded as a form of reverse discrimination, especially with racial affirmative action programs.

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After all, it gives minorities what some would call, an unfair advantage. One point Anne Hull makes in her article “Affirmative Action Hurts White People” concerns readers that affirmative action is unconstitutional. She goes into detail by telling the story of a girl named Jennifer Gratz, a white applicant rejected from her dream college. Jennifer claimed that though she had worked extremely hard to have polished credentials, she fell short to a minority student with the same GPA and test scores all because of race. After being rejected, Gratz pursued a lawsuit against the University of Michigan, raising the question if affirmative action is still need in higher education (Hull 31).

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An outrage among society today; high school students are not being admitted to their dream colleges based on ethnic background. Adolescents should not be burdened by the thought that they won’t get into the college they deserve to attend just based on their skin color. Affirmative Action is the cause of this appalling injustice in the college admissions process among big universities. There have been several cases where people have fought for their right to be admitted solely based on their qualifications. Universities’ use of Affirmative Action, and racial quotas in their admissions process should be exposed and terminated.

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Therefore, colleges would not have to endure any questioning regarding the admission of any of its enrolled students. In the end, the decision to continue affirmative action has served its purpose for African American writers such as Neblett and is utilized as the primary method for aiding disadvantaged minorities achieve equal educational benefits to non­minorities. However, other critics declare that affirmative action discriminates against non­minority races, and it does not primarily

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With the continued oppression and injustice of minorities and females that still exist today, affirmative action is a program that still needed in our

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In the United States of America, affirmative action was established in the 1960’s in order to redress the disadvantages of minority and historically excluded groups. Specifically focusing on issues in education and the workforce, affirmative action aimed to make these public institutions more representative of the population that they served. However, while affirmative action was meant to level the playing field, some argued that it brought about reverse discrimination against those who were not disadvantaged in this nation. Opponents asserted that affirmative action policies favor one group over another based solely on race rather than qualifications. No matter the argument, the Supreme Court debated this issue and attempted to accommodate

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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.

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Affirmative Action legislation has been the topic of heated debates for decades, but most recently called into question for its polarizing issue. This topic emphasizes the roles of equality, diversity, and historical disadvantages, while also arguing a principle of meritocracy and reverse discrimination. This volatile issue has perceived pros and cons that are swirling during these debates. There are advantages to Affirmative Action, which include the education of history, the promotion of diversity, and the provision of equal opportunities.

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Throughout the United States, thousands of high school seniors are eagerly awaiting their acceptance letters from colleges and universities. Some of these seniors, however, despite their high grades, will be faced with disappointment as their dreams are broken. Although life is bound to come with failures, these specific failures are often not the student’s own fault. Their rejection letters are caused by the Affirmative Action law that is applied by every University and college. “Affirmative Action policies are those in which an institution or organization actively engages in efforts to improve opportunities for historically excluded groups in American Society” (“Affirmative Action,” par. 1).

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Affirmative action has been the topic of debate for the past 51 years. It is the process that favors those who have been racially discriminated in the past and that has rejected many better qualified students for the sake of a racially diverse academic campus. Signed into effect by Lyndon B Johnson in 1965, affirmative action is meant to be beneficial to American society and minorities. However, the opposite is happening. Affirmative action needs to be done away with in American colleges because it destroys the idea of a meritocracy.

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Affirmative action has become obsolete in today’s society. Affirmative action is an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women; also: a similar effort to promote the rights or progress of other disadvantaged persons (Merriam-Webster, 2011). Today’s affirmative action will demoralize the very concepts that the policy was implemented to uphold: those of equality for all people regardless of color and discrimination. This policy supports racial multiplicity at the price of distinction, impartiality and experience; it also follows the line of reverse discrimination and sexual bias against white men (Reyna, Tucker, Korfmacher, & Henry, 2005).

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The real problem with affirmative action is that minority groups are being stigmatized and treated differently because their success could be deemed as unearned. Also universities are admitting minority students so their campus can be “diverse” but aren’t putting in the effort to make sure these students are actually succeeding in college and graduating. Universities are admitting students who are not prepared for college, therefore the same students that just got admitted are not graduating. For example, 41% of Hispanics and 42% of blacks are required to take a remedial Math or English before entering a college level coarse compared to 30% of white student. The average college graduation rate for a blacks is 39.7% and the average rate for

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As a topic of conversation that has consumed American politics for decades, affirmative action has served as America’s letter of apology to minorities that have faced such harsh discrimination through the years. Affirmative action serves as a historical turning point in the United States, and has closely addressed the issues that race, class, and gender minorities have faced for centuries. However, there is immense controversy that comes with the idealistic concept of affirmative action. While many researchers find it to be beneficial, others view this concept as erroneous.

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