This shows inherent biases in the public school system that accumulate over time to hinder the success of minority students. Due to the disadvantages minority students have to face in high school, Affirmative Action programs take into account these disadvantages and combat them with advantages in the admissions processes.
However, this can create unfair advantages to certain groups of students. Let’s examine two types of students: a wealthy black student who lives in the suburbs of Silicon Valley and a poor white student who grows up in downtown Detroit. The black student, who we will call Kenneth, grows up in a wealthy household that prioritizes education. Kenneth’s public school is highly funded by taxpayer dollars, he is able to afford private tutoring and college admissions advice, his family business connections provided him with a summer internships, and his school offers a breadth of extracurricular opportunities for him to excel at. On the other hand, the white student, who we will call Marshall, grows up in a low-income household in Detroit that prioritizes labor over education. His parents work long, laborious hours and Marshall works a minimum-wage job to contribute to the family income. Marshall cannot afford private tutoring, and his underfunded public school
…show more content…
Using wealth along with race to determine a student’s background prevents unfair advantages and disadvantages from students of different income levels. It also promotes true diversity in that students are holistically viewed for their socio economic backgrounds, and appreciated for what they can provide to the diversity of thought on-campus. Affirmative Action programs have failed because they attempted to solve the problem of racism with racism itself. While race is absolutely necessary to consider in college admissions processes, institutions must address additional