When reviewing American history, it is fair to say the US has a tumultuous past, especially where slavery is concerned. If the United States government were to support the reparations to the descendants of African American slaves it would be an admission of their responsibility. This is where affirmative action comes into play. To expound upon this notion, affirmative action can be defined as a government-orchestrated program or policy that creates benefits for multiple ethnicities. Affirmative action programs arise in numerous areas of society including undergraduate college and university admissions. There are both pros and cons to affirmative action policies in general as well as pertaining to college admissions. To begin with, one side …show more content…
This policy is believed to create diversity, which is certainly a noble cause, but fails as a sufficient advocate for affirmative action. Along these lines, equality is a far different concept than that of affirmative action. Thus, in a sense, affirmative action could be seen as serving as reverse discrimination, showing prejudice towards the individuals who are believed to discriminate against minorities. Equality, in racial terminology, holds that individuals treat one another the same without regards to their race or ethnicity. The practice of using affirmative action as the reason for appointing positions, contradicts the notion of being ‘colorblind’. This is in direct contradiction with idea of being racially equal. How can racial harmony be achieved if we continue to uphold the idea of racial discrimination? Equality is not the created by affirmative action. Additionally, affirmative action does not uphold the idea of a meritocracy. To explain, this political philosophy holds that opportunity should be granted as a direct result of one’s ability and talent, rather than on attritional qualities of the physical nature. Finally, affirmative action reinforces predisposed stereotypes and racism as it presupposes that all people of the same minority are struggling and therefore on need of assistance. This is not always the case, and thereby continues the cycle of conventionalization rather than reversing it. Subsequently, affirmative action creates inequality and lacks in strengthening diversity, and should not be permitted to interfere with college admissions. Justice Samuel Alito takes such a position in his dissenting opinion regarding Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin noting that race should only be incorporated into an institution’s admission decision if the reason for doing so is explicitly stated rather than woven into the admissions process without