Predicaments Caused by Affirmative Action

There are many supporters and opponents of Affirmative Action. The focus of Affirmative action is meant to be an attempt at equality throughout society. Every sector in America would be equal and unprejudiced. On the other hand, adopting affirmative action would force many employers to replace hard-working employees with those possibly less qualified simply due to their gender or ethnicity. Throughout history, people have been categorized into different groups. These groupings were based on certain characteristics people shared, whether it was their ethnicity, race, gender, or religion. Society is notorious for distinguishing among different groups and favoring one or two of them. Undoubtedly, this separation of peoples, led to increased tension between various groups. As time progressed, the conflicts intensified, and it became apparent that a change was necessary. So I intend to educate the reader on the origin of Affirmative Action; how it impacted the American society; is it still needed in today’s environment; what are some of the drawbacks or issues that came from implementing Affirmative Action, and finally what is the most beneficial aspect from Affirmative Action. One of the most famous quotes about Affirmative Action comes from President Lyndon Johnson who explained the rationale behind the use of affirmative action to achieve equal opportunity in a 1965 speech: “You do not take a person, who for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring

The Founding Fathers wanted all men to be treated equal. The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson, 1776). Unfortunately, equality for everyone has not been truly realized. The main issues affected were people’s skin color and gender. Women and people of color were not considered to be equal for many years. To correct this issue Affirmative Action was implemented. Affirmative Action helped people of color and women to be considered for jobs and accepted into colleges equally among other candidates. Today, equality between races and genders has improved, although Affirmative Action should be modified to meet the needs of today’s society.

The Affirmative Action Act was created to ensure that minority groups and women were given the same opportunities in education and employment that were traditionally afforded to white males. According to the National Conferences of State Legislatures, affirmative action is, “…an outcome of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement, intended to provide equal opportunities for members of minority groups and women in education and employment. In 1961, President Kennedy was the first to use the term "affirmative action" in an Executive Order that directed government contractors to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." The Executive Order also established the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, now known as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)” (NCLS, 2014). Affirmative action was further reinforced in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson when he signed an executive order requiring government contractors to increase the number of minorities that are offered employment.

A person has just obtained their dream ACT score, 34, while maintaining outstanding extracurricular activities throughout high school. After applying to the university of their choice, they are informed that they have not been admitted. Crushed and confused, they go on the university’s website only to discover that the university is looking for people with a more diverse racial background. Standing in the way of their acceptance is a defective policy formally known as race-based affirmative action. Informally called affirmative action, it is a combination of adopted policies that construct an advantage to minority groups, giving them more possibilities to succeed in jobs, education, and other aspects of daily life. The whole concept came

In the 1960s when minorities and whites were equal according to the constitution but unequal in reality, a program was needed to level the playing field. Thus the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was created and prohibited discrimination. It marked the beginning of a debate that has been going on for nearly a half of a century. Affirmative action needs to be reevaluated in educational settings in light of current needs.

College is a privilege that is now accessible to many people. It has not always been this way though. Lack of money, being deprived of representation, or racism hindered one’s chances in to getting into higher education, especially a minority’s chance. In order to raise against the barriers, President John F. Kennedy created the affirmative action program to provide equal opportunities for everyone, whether in education or in the workforce. Even if this was a program created in the 1960’s, problems continue to present itself as shown through the many court cases, such as Brown vs. Board of Education, Fisher vs. University of Texas, Grutter vs. Bollinger et al, and Hopwood vs. State of Texas. Thus, racial inequality and affirmative action

Diversity in the United States has been stymied due to the country’s legacy of slavery and subsequent successful efforts to legislate segregation of Blacks and Whites. At the beginning of the twentieth century, White legislative leaders sought laws to reflect the citizenry’s preference to discriminate, subordinate, and disenfranchise Black citizens. Segregation ordinances, poll taxes, and discriminatory practices of employers, educational institutions, and skill trade unions formed effective barriers to diversity proponents. This practice of exclusion reigned supreme. Fortunately, the nation has become more accepting of diversity in all phases of political and social life as the population grows increasingly more diverse.

Student affairs and higher education professionals must be familiar with legal obligations in regards to their diversity efforts policies in order to be fully compliant and successful in their endeavors.

     The subject of affirmative action in college admissions has been hotly debated since its inception. Although affirmative action was originally supported by the vast majority, that same majority is now starting to wonder if there is a better way. Commonly asked questions include: “Is affirmative action still working?” and “Is there an alternative?” The answers to each of these questions will provide insurmountable evidence that affirmative action in college admissions no longer fulfills its intended purpose and that the only viable alternative is to focus more attention on primary schooling for the underprivileged.

Affirmative action was introduced into the United States to eliminate discrimination in hiring and enrollment for minority groups. It was used to eradicate all the countless years of discrimination that minorities had faced. Affirmative Action provides equal opportunities for all Americans. Without this program, social and economic inequalities would still exist. Reason being is because companies will still neglect to integrate minorities. The main goal of affirmative action was to provide minority groups the equal opportunity to achieve a successful lifestyle and by doing this, it shows that affirmative action is required in America. To be able to end the countless acts of discrimination in education, the workforce and amongst the society in whole we must continue to enforce and embrace Affirmative Action.

“No, it’s not me, it’s you… What’s wrong with you? Why, nothing. You have everything we are looking for, it’s just…you’re black…” First established in 1961, Affirmative action (in the United States) was/is a practice in which the purpose is to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women (Merriam Webster). Fast forward to today’s society and what is affirmative action now? Considering the prevalence of diversity in the workplace and in educational facilities, it should be of utmost importance that all people, regardless of race, are given the equal opportunity in the admissions and job application process; affirmative action would enforce that importance. However, many job applicants go to an

Many colleges in United States are composed of an ethnically diverse student body. One of the reasons why the student body is full of diversity is because of the Affirmative Action. It is the policy that gives a special incentives to minorities and women to help promote diversity in school. Though it is a great idea to promote diversity in every college in United States, it is also a bad idea to continue this system. Many “A” students who are not minorities tend to get the same treatment as the “B” students who are minorities. Although accepted into school, these students who barely met the minimum criteria may have a tougher time at school because they may not be able to keep up with the pace of the classes since the schools have high expectations of its students. Furthermore, students who have worked hard to get good grades might be overlooked because the students who have lower grades will be accepted simply to fulfill the quota. Although promoting affirmative action is a great idea to seek diversity through different views from many different ethnicities, it will also take away people’s hard work, as well as producing more drop out students since they cannot keep up with what the university is expecting from them. Therefore, it is not morally justifiable or socially beneficial for the students since they may have a lower chance of succeeding at school.

Affirmative action is a policy that favors certain groups of people that suffer from discrimination, especially in applying for college. The most prevalent cases appear mostly in the elite colleges that have far more applicants than spots available for students. Due to the discriminating aspects of these programs, they should not be considered in the application process because they violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by separating certain groups of people in our society. Although the goals of these policies may be with positive intentions, the programs limit the rights of those not included under the system

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

Minorities and their supporters in the late 1960s gave birth to the implementation of what is now known as Affirmative Action (AA) at institutions of higher education. This mark in history was viewed as a great effort to integrate minorities into society through the use of preferences in college and university admissions. Lately when addressing AA people have begun to question its cause and if it truly is a positive force for change. However, AA has not always been shrouded in a veil of suspicion. In fact, questioning of whether AA fails to successfully place students in institutions where they can succeed is fairly recent. The doubting of AA comes from what is called mismatching. Mismatching questions whether preferences in school