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Affirmative action's role in colleges and universities has been a strongly debated topic. The heated subject has again come to the forefront due to the recent bans imposed on affirmative action by California and Washington. In 1978, the Supreme Court ruled (University of California Regents v. Bakke) that universities are allowed to consider race as a factor when choosing which students to accept. Affirmative action was intended to level the racial playing field and give minorities chances in the workplace and the classroom that they would not have received in the absence of affirmative action. However, while minorities have had more opportunities, Caucasians have suffered.
This so-called reverse discrimination hurts whites and minorities, because all races are not being treated equally. Affirmative action has played an important role in colleges and universities throughout America. Race is a major factor when it comes to the college admissions process. In most of the nation's colleges and universities, minorities receive priority when colleges look at prospective incoming freshman.
The majority of the nation's schools accept minorities before more-qualified whites, hurting both races. The main reason minorities are admitted? It is not due to their SAT scores, their involvement in high school activities, or their grade point averages. They are admitted because of the color of their skin. Colleges and universities that accept under qualified minorities over Caucasians are practicing discrimination. As a result of this unfair practice, the races have been further delineated and racial tension has continued to grow on college campuses.
Supporters of affirmative action in colleges state that it promotes racial diversity and helps level the playing field between minorities and more fortunate Caucasians. However, the question that is posed to many college and university leaders is: Does a culturally diverse student body improve the learning environment more than the best possible students would? In order to promote the most positive intellectual atmosphere for students at colleges and universities, rather then attempting to achieve a diverse campus, the best students should be admitted. School leaders in favor of affirmative action use racial diversity or economic reasons to support their stance. Many believe that by diversifying college and university campuses, the learning environment is improved.
The President of Rice University, Malcolm Gillis, believes: 'As institutions of higher education, we benefit greatly from the presence of an ethically and culturally diverse group of students; their experiences and perspectives enrich our campus community intellectually and in all other ways' (Gillis). A culturally diverse group of students obviously adds to the learning experience at college because not everything that you learn at college is academic. College helps prepare students to enter the American workforce and also aids students in life preparation. Students become more open to other races, traditions, and beliefs by attending a racially mixed school.
Another commonly used reason for the preferential treatment of minorities in the admissions process is that affirmative action helps less fortunate blacks and Hispanics into college. 'In general, blacks and Hispanics score lower on college exams than whites and Asians' (Sanchez). Educators believe that this difference in exam scores occurs primarily because many blacks and Hispanics are from 'disadvantaged families or mediocre schools' (Sanchez). 'Many colleges say that until that chronic gap is closed, they must use race as a factor in admissions to ensure a racially diverse student body' (Sanchez). Although most higher education leaders support it, the general consensus of the American people is that affirmative action should be abolished in the college admissions process. A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found that three out of four Americans surveyed opposed affirmative action programs.
The poll found that they 'opposed affirmative action programs that give preference to minorities to make up for past discrimination' (Morin and Warden). Also, more than two-thirds of the people surveyed believe that those programs should be altered or eliminated (Morin and Warden). The survey also found that the issue of affirmative action is sharply divided between blacks and whites. Furthermore, within communities of color, there exists a major debate about affirmative action.
Nearly half of all African Americans interviewed said that they opposed affirmative action programs giving partiality to minorities (Morin and Warden). Preferential treatment of minorities in America's colleges and universities should not continue since the majority of whites and a significant percentage of blacks do not believe in affirmative action in the admissions process. Recently, there have been many positive steps taken towards the abolishment of affirmative action in the college admissions process. Affirmative action opponents have succeeded in the nation's courts.
Through rulings in recent years, the courts have ended some set-aside programs in government contracting, prompted new rules on minority procurement in the federal government and eliminated some affirmative action programs in higher education. The most significant anti-affirmative action legislation occurred in 1996 with the passage of Proposition 209. Proposition 209 outlawed most government affirmative action programs in California. Recently, Washington became the second state to ban affirmative action. Also, in the past 5 years, two of the nation's largest public universities, California and Texas, have been forced to stop using racial preferences (Sanchez).
In order for both races to be treated fairly, preferential treatment of minorities in colleges and universities must end. Many believe that having a diverse campus does not benefit students at all. John Yoo is an Asian American professor at Board Law School at the University of California, Berkeley and a former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Regarding racially diverse campuses he stated: 'How does diversity exactly aid in the educational process? People say it does, but I don't really see how it does' (Yoo).
This same argument is made by most of the nation's Republicans and conservatives. Because most Americans disagree with affirmative action, there are 8 states that are following Washington and California's lead in ending affirmative action. Supporters and opponents of affirmative action believe that one of the most important affirmative action cases is currently being battled out in the courts. The case involves Jennifer Gratz, who was denied admission to the University of Michigan 3 years ago.
Gratz graduated from high school with an 'A' average, had been a student council leader, an aide to senior citizens, a math tutor, and a homecoming queen (Sanchez). Despite her impressive performance in high school, she was not admitted to the University of Michigan. She filed a lawsuit that accused the university of rejecting her because she is white in order to make room for minority students with the same or lesser grades. Gratz's lawsuit may affect colleges elsewhere. 'Her case is emerging as the next pivotal battle in the growing campaign that conservative groups are waging against affirmative action on the nation's campuses. The dispute could decide whether universities can keep the practices that many have relied on for a generation to create racially diverse enrollments' (Sanchez). Opponents of affirmative action consider Gratz's lawsuit their next best chance to overturn the 1978 Supreme Court ruling, University of California Regents v.
Bakke (Sanchez). Gratz's case is founded on confidential university documents that were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. 'The documents show ways in which Michigan uses race in the process of choosing a freshman class' (Sanchez). The documents suggest that a white student with a SAT score of 1000 and a GPA of 3. 2 would not be admitted into the University of Michigan. However, a minority (black or Hispanic) student with the same SAT score and GPA would be recommended for admission (Sanchez). If the ruling goes in Gratz's favor, this case will be hailed by opponents of affirmative action as the most important step towards equality in colleges and universities. The only way to treat college admissions without preferential treatment is to look at applicants without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and sexual preference.
Less qualified minorities are being accepted into colleges and universities before more capable Caucasians, and this practice needs to stop. Unfortunately, the era of affirmative action is far from over because most state legislatures have not taken steps to terminate the practice. The Supreme Court also has not retreated from its 1978 decision that justified racial preferences in college admissions to promote student diversity. Although opponents of affirmative action are against preferential treatment for minorities in the admissions process, they do not want to turn their backs on less fortunate races. They understand that something must be done. They realize that public schools serving inner-city neighborhoods have fewer experienced teachers than suburban schools.
Also, these schools lack computers or other valuable teaching tools that make a huge difference in how well a child is taught. Many opponents say that once racial preferences are banned and college admission is based more squarely on merit, outreach programs should be strengthened to give minorities a better shot to compete for the available campus slots. However, something must be done to end the discrimination that is occurring in college admissions. The first step that colleges and universities must take will be to end all preferential treatment of minorities in the admissions process. Works Cited Gillis, Malcolm. 'Diverse Campuses Benefit Students and Institutions, ' Higher Education and National Affairs: American Council on Education.
Volume 48, No. 6, 3 / 29 / 99. Available http: web 29 99 /opinion diverse. html Morin, Richard and Sharon Warden. 'Americans Vent Anger at Affirmative Action. ' Washington Post Online. March 24, 1995.
Available http: web Sanchez, Rene. 'Applicant's Challenge Emerges as Pivotal Affirmative Action Case. ' Washington Post Online. December 5, 1997. Available http: web Yoo, John. 'Interview with John Yoo. ' Available http: web Back to Other Papers
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Research essay sample on Affirmative Action Programs Colleges And Universities
