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How affirmative action impacts african americans
Affirmative action in colleges
Legal aspect of affirmative action
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Up and until this point in time, the court has generally ruled that promoting educational diversity is in fact a compelling state objective, but in today’s America, educational diversity has been established and is thriving. In this day and age, using race as a factor in college admissions is not needed. The Fourteenth amendment ensures the equal protection of the law to each and every citizen. We may not discriminate in order to promote
He was denied then and again in 1974. This second rejection lead him to file a suit against the school for discrimination and violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Under the special admissions program, candidates who applied to UC Davis Medical School had the opportunity to select if they considered themselves members of a “minority group,” which included American Indians, African Americans, Asians, and Chicanos, or “economically and/or educationally disadvantaged,” according to Cornell Law. Candidates who fell under this “special admissions” title did not have to meet certain typical admissions requirements, namely a grade point average above a 2.5 and a comparison against general applicants (Cornell Law). General admissions requirements gave applicants a scored based on a compilation of GPA, science GPA, MCAT score, admission interview, letter of recommendation, and extracurricular activities, and although Bakke had a score of 468 out of 500 during his first application and a 549 out of 600 during the second, he was denied
The California Supreme Court would rule in his favor. The California court made the decision stating “no applicant may be rejected because of his race in favor of another who is less qualified”. The school was ordered to shut down the quota system. The University then appealed the decision to the United States Supreme Court in 1978.
This standard requires universities to demonstrate that the inclusion of race furthers a compelling governmental interest, and is narrowly tailored to achieve that interest. Of particular importance to the Court is whether “the means chosen ‘fit’ th[e] compelling goal so closely that there is little or no possibility that the motive for the classification was illegitimate racial prejudice or stereotype.” Put differently, universities must demonstrate that including race in the admissions process is necessary to enroll a diverse student body, and is accomplished through means that are reasonably calculated to achieve the educational benefits of
The civil rights area of the 1960s is over. Affirmative action policies based on racial quotas or preferences have been struck down by the Supreme Court, yet states have an interest in college admission that are diverse and reflect their general population. The University of Texas finds itself defending policies intended to conform to recent court rulings yet merely mentioning race as a factor in a holistic review has drawn a challenge. The University of Texas process of admissions aligns with Gutter V Bollinger. The facts of this case are in keeping with previous court precedents.
As Ratana explained, “It is unconstitutional for any institution to employ a racial quota under the Equal Protection Clause. Also, state laws do not supersede the law of the land. Affirmative action just factors in race as one of the many criteria that institutions use in the consideration of who to admit into colleges and employ”. One of the main purposes of the Affirmative action policy was to create a more diverse community. However, some universities have argued by saying that the ban of the policy is so that they can ensure a diverse community.
Public colleges and universities in the United States use a variety of factors to determine which students will be accepted. Universities often want a student body with diverse academic interests, talents, and backgrounds. They consider factors such as applicants’ grades, standardized test scores, community service, athletic or musical ability, and geographic location. Sometimes, universities also consider an applicant’s race or ethnicity. This case is about whether the University of Texas-Austin’s admissions policies violate the Fourteenth Amendment and its guarantee of equal protection.
This law also ensures diversity on campus, and on top of that affirmative action is still used for the remaining students that are not at the top 10% of their class (Hung). Evidently, race plays a crucial role in the admission decisions. Hung claims that race shouldn’t play such a big role in the admission process because it is considered discrimination. He supports this argument by comparing the average GPA and SAT scores of those students that were granted admission but were not in the top 10 percent of their class. African Americans had the lowest averaged scores, followed by Hispanics, then whites, and then Asian Americans.
Bakke (1978) stated that the supreme court struck down on certain types of race-based preferences in state college admissions as violating the equal protection clause. This made it easier for minorities to be accepted to colleges. Sixteen out of one hundred seats were reserved for minority applicants, which were Blacks, Asians, Chicanos, and Native Americans. A white applicant named Allan Bakke, was denied admission twice, despite having a higher GPA and MCAT score than some of the minority applicant who were accepted admission. This is discrimination because applicants were accepted just because of their race, which goes against the 14th amendment.
This particular quota system would disable student compatibility, increase grade inflation, and destroy the integrity of higher education itself. The best alternative would be to have a colorblind system created by based solely on enterprise and merit. Affirmative action programs state the of poverty as a main factor individual's educational progress. Thus occurring, students coming from financially stable backgrounds are more likely to have a thought in admission acceptance. Brown v. Board of Education engraved its way for significant opportunities in our society for both non-colored people and minorities by pursuing
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), once known as the Lucretia Mott Amendment, was supposed to guarantee equal rights between men and women (The Learning Network). The ERA covered many issues that women faced during its time. Abortion rights were included so that women could choose whether or not they would have a child. The ERA included women in the military drafts as one of their topics to make sure that men and women both had the same obligations. When the Constitution was first being formed, it was stated that “All men are created equal”, but they forgot one vital piece of America —women (“Equal Rights Amendment”).
Throughout United States History, there have been many situations that have limited civil rights. Some of these actions were the Espionage and Sedition Acts, the Executive Order 9066, and the passage of the USA Patriot Act. These actions were very controversial at the time and caused a lot of commotion between Americans and officials. Some people did not agree with them changing our civil liberties and were upset about it while others were fine with them changing our rights.
However, there’s a certain perversion to admission policies like this, policies like UT’s “top 10” program. These policies leverage their racial diversity via neighborhood, and thus public high school, segregation. As Jamelle Bouie write in a Slate article on the
We are now living in a time of discrimination. I asked two questions later, but I would like to add another question and I want to talk about it and I hope to answer it or give the answer to the people. When will discrimination end?. Many people have suffered and are still at risk of racism or racial discrimination, so Racism is a doctrine based on discrimination between people according to their sexual origin and color.
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
