Minority Status

Being admitted into college is a difficult process, one that requires students to be diligent in their studies, engage in a number of extracurricular activities, and overcome the everyday pressures and challenges that high-schoolers face across the country. Admittedly, not everyone in the United States is born with the same opportunities as socioeconomic factors as well as historic injustices have contributed to a society in which some people are far more likely to achieve upward mobility – of which, obtaining a college degree is a necessary part – than others. While there is need to rectify this reality,

Minority status has long since been viewed in a not-so-positive light. From the reflex many people have to lock their doors when they see a homeless person or a person of color, to stereotyping and assumptions based on institutionalized racism, to discrimination, minority status has a part to play in all of it. Similarly, many people have the idea that deaf people cannot do anything for themselves because they are “disabled”. Even though America was once hailed as a melting pot because of the diversity of its citizens, things like “you’re in America now, speak English” are said in today's America. While being defined as a minority isn’t inherently bad, it has become an excuse for some members of the majority to treat minorities as second-class citizens.

In the United States alone, minorities have struggled for centuries to earn the basic rights and opportunities as others. African Americans have always worked harder and been treated maliciously just because of the color of their skin. There have been numerous movements, peaceful protests, and brutal battles by black leaders against whites for equality, justice, and a fair chance at a better life. It is safe to say that in the past, blacks were not allowed to progress or have a mind of their own. In comparison to the past, the educational sector for minorities still remains as an extreme societal challenge. For many years, African Americans have been denied educational advancement opportunities. The higher education area suffers greatly for the black population but very few people will address why this matter occurs. Do black families’ socioeconomic status affect the children’s education? The socioeconomic status is easily defined as an individuals or families’ economic and social rank based on income, education level, and occupation. The socioeconomic status of black families does affect their children’s academic success, however; it does not determine their children’s success. This educational disadvantage for black students needs to be addressed because of the lack of financial and emotional support that minority students receive due to their parents lack of experience and knowledge with higher education. Many black students become a product of their environment because

A substantial amount of educational and psychological research has consistently demonstrated that African American students underperform academically relative to White students. For example, they tend to receive lower grades in school (e.g., Demo & Parker, 1987; Simmons, Brown, Bush, & Blyth, 1978), score lower on standardized tests of intellectual ability (e.g., Bachman, 1970; Herring, 1989; Reyes & Stanic, 1988; Simmons et al., 1978), drop out at higher rates (e.g., American Council on Education, 1990; Steele, 1992), and graduate from college with substantially lower grades than White students (e.g., Nettles, 1988). Such performance gaps can be attributed to

Today's education is often viewed as failing in its goal of educating students, especially those students characterized as minorities, including African American, Hispanic, and Appalachian students (Quiroz, 1999). Among the minority groups mentioned, African American males are affected most adversely. Research has shown that when Black male students are compared to other students by gender and race they consistently rank lowest in academic achievement (Ogbu, 2003), have the worst attendance record (Voelkle, 1999), are suspended and expelled the most often (Raffaele Mendez, 2003; Staples, 1982), are most likely to drop out of school, and most often fail to graduate from high school or to earn a GED (Pinkney, 2000; Roderick, 2003).

Caucasian students as well as those that come from upper-class families, tend to be overrepresented (Kim, Y. K., & Sax, L. J. (2009), whereas people of color, in this case, immigrants, compose 5% of the immigrants that obtain a college degree (Williams, S. , & Ferrari, J. (2015). Those from the upper-class families seek the assistance of faculty and professors,

American society likes to believe that race relations in our country are no longer strained. We do not want to hear about the need for affirmative action or about the growing numbers of white supremacist groups. In order to appease our collective conscious, we put aside the disturbing fact that racism is alive and well in the great U.S.A. It hides in the workplace, it subtly shows its ugly face in the media, and it affects the education of minority students nationwide. In the following excerpts from an interview with a middle class African American male, the reader will find strong evidence that race plays a major role in determining the type and quality of education a student receives.

Affirmative action has been viewed as an effective tool for rectifying the inequalities of racism in our country’s past. It is a set of procedures intended to eliminate the discrimination of an applicant based on their ethnic origin. President John F. Kennedy first introduced the concept “broadly across the United States with his Executive Order number 10925” and “in 1978 the Supreme Court ruled that race could be used as an admission standard” (Wilcher). The utilization of race is a “plus factor” for minority races but it has developed into a disadvantage for Asian-American students who demonstrate academic excellence. They often find their achievements overlooked because of their racial background (Bronner). Although affirmative action

Minority status. Some research has shown minorities were more dissatisfied with their job as a DCW than non-minorities (Dill, Morgan, & Marshall, 2011). This was more common in urban areas than in rural areas but did not mean rural or urban had more or better jobs. The question of why may depend on geographic and necessary skills needed. Jack & Team (2013) reported that hearing racial slurs from patients or other staff members were also concerns among co-workers, as well. The ideal DCW is female over the age of 35 with a high school education, who is working for the first time (Riggs & Rantz, 2001).

Many people assume that Asians have it the easiest of all the races when it comes to applying to top tier schools. Not only are they “naturally intelligent”, they are also a minority meaning they can reap the benefits of affirmative action; therefore, they must be able to easily stand out against White applicants with a comparably high academic record. Surprisingly, studies show that the opposite may be true. Asians admission rates in top tier schools like Harvard suggest that White applicants may be chosen over an Asian applicant with the same qualifications due to higher expectations for Asian students. These unofficial discriminatory policies have the exact opposite effect of affirmative action: giving advantaged Whites preference over

It is the 21st century and there is still racial prejudice in America. Many may not realize this, but there is a growing problem between Asian-Americans and the American society. A growing issue is that minorities, especially Asian-Americans are being judged based on their race rather than the accolades and achievements they have accomplished. In the article “The model minority is losing patience,” the article discusses about a high school senior by the name of Michael Wang, who was denied six out of seven Ivy League colleges, even after coming in second place in his class of 1,002 students for academics, scoring a 36 (perfect) score on the ACT, scoring in the top 150 of a national math competition, and much more. Many would assume based on all of these accolades and achievements, any student would be accepted to many elite colleges, including Ivy League schools. The article goes on to say that racial prejudice is a major problem even within the high school level. Racial prejudice is a major problem as discussed within the article, and the authors do an effective job in presenting that there is a major racial prejudice issue among high school students and college administration’s.

As a testament to the next discussion point of opportunities, especially within the realm of college admission, I have experienced firsthand the opportunities presented by affirmative action. As a low-income, first-generation college student, Virginia Tech had offered me a full scholarship based solely on merit and financial need. As a “minority” according to Virginia Tech, I had an

Consequently, students who have been admitted into colleges under Affirmative Action are usually deemed as inadequate to handle the school. Most of these students are chosen by ethnicity and race rather than how well they do in school, for instance, if they are not properly prepared and ready to work hard they will initially fail the class or classes before their first final. When a student is admitted into a school due to their ethnicity, it fulfills the exact opposite objective that Martin Luther King Jr. had once believed would happen, and that was to have a society that was not “color-blind,” instead race awareness increases rather than promoting a society in favor of having color-blind justice. Another way supporters would argue that it is needed is that it aids students to study areas that they might not have thought about even touching ground in, however this could also affect the student, on account of them not knowing much about that area, in short leaving them unprepared and set up for failure. As stated in ‘Arguments for and Against Affirmative Action’ states, “It destroys the idea of a meritocracy and instead puts race as the dominant factor in admissions and hiring procedures,” in other words, saying that the group of people whose progress is usually based on their ability and talent is being comprehensively overlooked because their race is becoming the principal aspect on how a college determines whether or not a student is admissible in the

In recent years, the strongest failings of affirmative action have been revealed: the inability of minority students -- accepted on an affirmative action basis -- to graduate college (Ravitch, par. 7). While the United States and similar governments are trying to quell the ripples of racist and slavery-based pasts, the effectiveness of the strategies employed is being looked over. The ?social promotion? policies of affirmative action end up pushing students with inadequate grades into college where, when faced with having to make a return to remedial teaching, find that graduation is almost impossible (Ravitch, par. 11). The soul of the matter, suggested by Ravitch, exists at an adolescent level where a student?s social and/or family status affects how he or she learns. The end results of this inefficient system of balance, based on liberal society?s collective desire to have minorities catch up with the crowd, can be seen as

Around September, high school seniors everywhere begin applying to colleges. This is usually a stressful time, writing essays, deciding what to major in, picturing where to live for the next four years. Besides being stressful mentally, college applications puts stress on wallets. Money is spent on standardized tests, application fees and college visits, and of course on the university itself. Students try to put their best foot forward in order to get into the college of their dreams. They work hard to offer something to colleges that other students do not have. Some students already have an advantage compared to others. They were born with this advantage, and obtained it without having to do anything at all. This is called privilege. Because of their race, caucasian students have a higher advantage for college acceptance compared to students of color. Privilege is currently the direct cause for underrepresentation of minorities that enter into college. These students are at a disadvantage, making it more difficult for them to receive acceptance from the college of their choice.