ipl-logo

The Pros And Cons Of Affirmative Action

801 Words4 Pages

Affirmative action is a treacherous topic. Our minds struggle to wrap themselves around the controversial policy because of the ambiguity and subjectivity seeping from such vague terms associated with it, such as “diversity” and “cultural awareness.” Thus, we crave evidentiary support and clear guidelines when discussing constitutional law to make it as digestible as possible. Consequently, it is easy to state that affirmative action is simply a lazy, unsubstantiated means of accepting more people of color to make university administrations look good. One of the most pressing concerns that we bring up about affirmative action is the “slippery slope” that it opens when allowed. Suddenly, would universities simply view an applicant by skin …show more content…

The first ascent of the strict scrutiny summit consists of requiring a “governmental compelling interest” (Fisher v. University of Texas 2). What this means is the policy in question must have some governmental compelling interest it is advancing. Now the court in Fisher did affirm that “promoting cross-racial understanding, helping to break down racial stereotypes, and enabling students to better understand persons of different races” constitute compelling governmental interests (Fisher v. University of Texas 12). Because of this, many of us instantly become skeptical, that this jargon is code for universities to subjectively define diversity however they please. However, schools wish for that lenience. Rather, the courts have identified policy after policy that does not promote a “compelling government interest.” For example, quota systems or any system that “increases pure numbers of racial minorities based on mathematical targets” is not compelling enough (Fisher v University of Texas 7). In Gratz v Bollinger (2012), the court found that the University of Michigan’s policy of a complex, statistically modeled point allocation system based on a holistic set of factors including race was not constitutional. In this policy, the University of Michigan altered and improved their admissions policy continuously. Their Office of Undergraduate Admissions devised a set of guidelines pages and pages long, with numerous revisions and correction under the guidance of legal counsel, education experts, and admissions officers at the University of Michigan (Gratz v Bollinger 2). Yet with hundreds of hours of research, consultation, and collaboration, even their complex and carefully crafted points system was still inadequate as numerical points or quotas of racial minorities were found not in furtherance of a compelling

Show More
Related
625 Words | 3 Pages

After carefully reviewing the oral argument and brief of case 14-191, Abigail Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, I was impressed how well the plaintiff attorney argued her defense during the trail. The litigations were as stated, in 2008, the UT Austin enrollment department wrongfully denied admission based upon the school considered race discrimination in its admission process because Fisher was a white female student, and because of her inadequate academic achievements. Fisher lawyer focus adequately on the highlight of the case by persuading the court that she would have gotten accepted into the university if she wasn’t stereotyped on such matters: race, top 10 percent student, grades, test scores which she refer to as personal achievement index. UT at Austin attorneys really didn’t have much leading factories to propose a concrete objective. In the argument Fisher attorney used the Justice Powell‘s example on Bakke system to support is statement.

Read More
274 Words | 2 Pages

The second case filed against the University of Michigan is Grutter v. Bollinger (2003). The suit was filed by non-minority applicants who alleged the university for using race as the prevailing factor in admitting students and therefore violated the Equal Protection Clause, Title VI and Section 1981 (Green, 2004, p. 144). In their defense, the University of Michigan argued that the university seeks to ensure their ability to make unique contributions to the character of the student body by enrolling a “meaningful number” of underrepresented minority students (Green, 2004, p. 147). In contrast to the Gratz case, the district court did not follow Justice Powell’s rationale in the Bakke case and the district court ruled in favor of the plaintiff.

Read More
379 Words | 2 Pages

Though in Grutter v. Bollinger we deal with the 14th amendment of the Equal Protection Clause and racial classifications too, the way race is used is slightly differs. In this particular case, the court had to decide whether the use of race at the Univeristy of Michigan Law School during the admissions process violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment. Barbara Grutter, a Caucasian applicant, applied to the University of Michigan in 1996 with a 3.8 GPA and a score of 161 on her LSAT. Grutter was placed on the waitlist, but was subsequently denied admission to the school. Grutter claims that she was only denied because of her race, as the University uses race as a factor in the admission process.

Read More
151 Words | 1 Pages

Issue- Can race diversity be taken into account when deciding admissions to a public University? Previous History- Grutter believed that the University was in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, and of the Civil Rights Act.

Read More
858 Words | 4 Pages

The Supreme Court made a mistake when they decided with the University of Texas; no college should take in race as a factor when selecting applications of students. In 2007, two female high school students applied to the University of Texas; one of the girls being Miss Abigail N. Fisher. Abigail was a caucasian, in the top 12% of her school at Stephen Austin High School, but she was denied by the University of Texas along with a friend of her’s. However,

Read More
591 Words | 3 Pages

Fisher, but they held the the Court of Appeals did not hold the University’s admission policies to a standard of strict scrutiny so the judgement was incorrect. In previous judicial precedent in cases dealing with minority admissions, the Court has held that they are reviewable under the fourteenth amendment, these such cases must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny to determine whether the policies are precisely tailored to serve a compelling governmental interest. If the policy does not meet this standard, then race can not be considered in any admissions process. The Court stated the it was the job of the reviewing court to verify that the University policy in question was necessary to achieve a more diverse student body and the any race-neutral alternative would not achieve the same level of diversity. The Supreme Court said the lower courts did not conduct a sufficient strict scrutiny examination in this case.

Read More
820 Words | 4 Pages

n the Supreme Court case University of California v. Bakke in 1978, Allan Bakke, a white applicant, was denied admission to the University of California, Davis Medical School because he was white, although he had great MCAT, GPA, and test scores he was denied twice, because the school was using “racial quotas” during admission and had “reserved 16 out of 100 seats in its entering class for minorities, including "Blacks," "Chicanos," "Asians," and "American Indians"’’("Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. " West's Encyclopedia). Bakke sued the University of California for using “racial quotas” as well as claiming that the schools admission processes was a violation of “Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fourteenth

Read More
197 Words | 1 Pages

In the end the Supreme Court supported the lawfulness of affirmative action, but restricted its practice. The court’s ruling

Read More
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

Read More
1128 Words | 5 Pages

”This is what is supposed to be in effect overall public schools and colleges. But discrimination is inevitable, not because of all the racist people out there, but because of the lack of opportunities to be aware of discrimination between races. Although the United States has come a very long way in race equality, there is still vast room for improvement among all

Read More
804 Words | 4 Pages

The Columbian Exchange is the process of trading goods, ideas, and technology between Europe, Asia, and Africa to the Americas that started in the 15th century. The effects of the Columbian Exchange on the New and Old World were complex. Both of which had negative and positive impacts that everlastingly altered history. The effects on both worlds have shaped the course of history and influenced the world. Without a doubt, the Columbian Exchange was problematic to both worlds as it caused economic and cultural problems along with multiple outbreaks of murderous diseases.

Read More
350 Words | 2 Pages

The Supreme Court emphasized the learning benefits from a diverse student body. This ruling was also a win for people that are against racial preference. The ruling said, “Courts must consider whether such preferences are narrowly tailored to achieving their educational goals

Read More
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

Read More
1028 Words | 5 Pages

As far as morality and justice are concerned, if a school or business or government declines to practice affirmative action, that’s okay” – says the

Read More
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

Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Affirmative Action

Related Topics

Open Document