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Affirmative action
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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).
Affirmative Action Affirmative Action is a policy or program intended to redress past discrimination and promote equal opportunities in education and employment. This is a highly controversial and well known topic, especially when considering it as part of college admissions. Many argue that colleges and universities should consider a student’s race and national origin when reviewing submitted applications. This is merely an attempt to create a more diverse student body, and assure that discrimination not occur. Although there is evidence to support that Affirmative Action is beneficial to the college and its student body, it should not exists in admissions because it limits the number of qualified non-minority students admitted.
Discrimination, no matter if it is towards whites, blacks, or any other ethnicity, should never be allowed. This makes affirmative action an unfair system that should be abolished (Economist). Furthermore, affirmative action breaks the Civil Rights Act of 1964, while also not following the 14th amendment, both of which state that no person should be given less rights than others (Britannica). It not only hurts those with a harder time getting in, but also those in the minority groups, as they are not fully prepared for what is to come. This causes their grades to drop, ultimately compelling them to either drop out or be unable to graduate.
Affirmative action should be used towards college admissions because it allows a fair evaluation of applicants and compensates for gender and racial inequalities. This policy was originally put into place for white veterans and women, but after the Civil Rights Movement, it began to include minorities. The action does not make it easy for students to get into college based on just their race and only makes up for their disadvantages. Still many conservative whites argue that it is seen as reverse racism and that white students are being discriminated against. However, affirmative action is a response that has developed throughout centuries of discrimination upon people of color and women; this policy is by no means discriminating against white
The policies of affirmative action combat racism in a very critical way in America. By using this program, this allows those who are “the preferred position of society” a chance to excel in a country that has allowed them to be oppressed for many years. Therefore, with the affirmative action policies, it undermines the racist institutions in the American psyche. This helps minorities such as African Americans, Hispanics, and many others to be given equal opportunity when it come to applying for college or a job. Although many would say that affirmative action is not needed anymore because America has changed significantly beyond the injustices that happened in the past, but the oppression and injustice of minorities and females has not approved much in America.
In 1955, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order prohibiting discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment in the federal government because of race, color, or national origin (1). Its purpose to end discrimination, but as the action was passed, however, this executive order laid the groundwork that evolved into something bigger and more controversial than anyone could imagine. Many people started questioning: Had affirmative action lived up to its original goal of helping minority, and less advantage population to achieve parity or equality? Or, has Affirmative Action created reverse discrimination causing a bigger problem for the society as a whole?
While some view it as a milestone, from years of racial discrimination and oppression, others have since coined the term, “reverse racism.” According to the U.S. Labor Department, affirmative action has helped over 5 million minority and 6 million white and minority women move up the workforce. Affirmative action in recent years has been dealt with much criticism and opposition, as seen in numerous court cases, e.g., Regents of California V. Bakke, and Fisher V. University of
Gary Becker a college professor at the University of Chicago states that “Affirmative Action laws hurt individuals who are supposed to benefit from them and does more harm than good.” (Becker) Becker states “individuals less qualified perform poorer than their more qualified peers in school and in the workplace.” (Becker). Both sides each have valid points to make and evidence to support them. Groups that support and confirm Affirmative Action and there polices are The American Council on Education.
Affirmative action should not hold as much weight as it does in schools. Colleges rather should base acceptance and scholarships on merit. This makes for a higher success rate without completely eliminating diversity in the classrooms. One reason colleges use affirmative action is to give minorities a better chance at receiving higher-level education.
“Affirmative action is not about quotas. It’s an attempt to open more opportunities for women and people of color through aggressive recruitment and outreach greater access to academic institutions and the workplace and not exclude people on the basis of race or gender.” (Holhut3) Actions or policy favoring those individuals who are subject to discrimination particularly in relation to employment or education is called Affirmative Action. Although affirmative action is not necessarily a form of equal treatment it is a form of fair treatment. Programs that attempt to break down the wall of segregation that excluded racial minorities and women from workplace and education include quotas, minority scholarships, reverse discrimination, preferential hiring and diversity have all been linked to affirmative action.
However, you really wonder that if there was no affirmative action, would the goal of minorities having an equal opportunity be achieved and is this just a game of race? It sure does seem like so. One reason to ban affirmative action is because it truly favors one race over the other. As stated in “Affirmative Action: Overview”, it argues that those who oppose this action believe that it “causes a form of reverse discrimination by [preferring] one group over another, based on racial preference rather than academic achievement”, which serves unconstitutional in a way by providing advantages to the minority and defeats the purpose of what America established in the past to make everyone equal.
l Affirmative action was intended to increase the access of education and job opportunities for members of groups that are, historically discriminated against, affirmative action programs try to ensure that minorities get extra special access to jobs and schools, which, for many people, there is not equal opportunity. Affirmative action, even the playing field because it allows those who have the same potential as whites to receive better jobs or a better education to prepare themselves to be qualified to enter the workforce. Affirmative action has helped in the progress of women of all colors in the United States as we can clearly see how they are CEO’s of major companies, therefore this program was not simply put in place for blacks
The fear is that without this policy, diversity will not always happen if left up to chance. It is true that schools and other organizations have discriminated against women and people of other race. This problem created an unfair advantage for males of the superior race. Supporters also charge that without affirmative action African Americans would have a more difficult process of being admitted into prestigious and predominately white universities (Hopkins, 2010). Affirmative Action allows minorities to reflect different areas of study and work that otherwise would have never been considered.
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.
As affirmative action gives freedom to everyone, especially the minority. It is said to make everything equal and it doesn’t matter the reason behind it. Affirmative action gives an equal right to everybody no matter where they lived or where they grew up, so Kantians can be in favor of affirmative
