The Pros And Cons Of Affirmative Action

The fact that, in most cases, a minority student will get accepted over a white student with the same or almost the same qualifications is causing controversy all over the nation. This is precisely the definition of affirmative action. In an excerpt titled Affirmative Action and the College Admissions Process from the book, 8 Steps to Help Black Families Pay For College, by Thomas and Will LaVeist, it is stated that, “affirmative action is meant to level the playing field and ensure that schools and businesses are not intentionally discriminating against minority groups.” This leveling of the playing field leads to the very broad generalization and misperception that the policy is allowing less-qualified minorities to take the place of the more-qualified whites.

Affirmative Action is one of the many social issues facing America today. Affirmative action was signed into place in 1961 by President Kennedy and allows minority groups or people who face discrimination to become employed or get an education that is equal to that of a white male. Groups that Affirmative Action aims to help are women, blacks, Latinos, and people with disabilities. While these policies were signed to slowly rid the workforce and schools from discrimination, it hurts people who do not face discrimination, specifically whites. Many white men and women lose special opportunities to work or go to college because of certain standards that the Affirmative Action laws require. Universities and the military require a certain number of minorities in order to meet the standards and have a more diverse atmosphere. An example of this is the California V. Bakke supreme court case of 1978.

Today affirmative action and other racial injustices tend to be in the spotlight quite often, such as in “Fisher v University of Texas at Austin” case which highlighted that many highly qualified white prospective students are passed over for less qualified minority students to attempt to make the university more diverse using the affirmative action initiative (“Voices: Affirmative Action”). Affirmative action or positive discrimination is a policy in which those who have been discriminated on in the past or who tend to be discriminated on presently are favored, usually in relation to education or jobs. It was introduced by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to attempt to reduce the discrimination still continuing despite the civil rights movements. Later it was further developed and enforced by President Lyndon B. Johnson. A professor of English at San Jose University, Shelby Steele, an African American man, spoke of his views of the negative impacts of affirmative action in his book, “The Content of Our Character: A New Vision of Race in America.” In Steele’s book he discredits

In the United States justice is defined as equal treatment of all its citizens under the law. When one citizen is mistreated an injustice has been committed against all people. Affirmative Action is a program whose purpose is to make sure that citizens are treated equally by enforcing a set of policies which are designed to promote the inclusion of all individuals regardless of race, disability, sex, or religion. In the United States democracy we are all equal, but some groups have been enjoying more advantages in society than others for centuries. Current statistics show the depth of modern day racial gaps, which are rooted in historical discrimination and modern-day structural racism. Generations of nominal disadvantages have created

Today affirmative action becomes one of the most controversial subjects in the country, with as many supporters claiming it is equality, fairness, diversity, while opponents claim it is pure reverse discrimination. Proponent of affirmative action state it is needed for diversity in the work place, in our universities but those who oppose called it preference. In this paper, I will explore affirmative action, does it only benefit minorities (African Americans) or all races. Does affirmative action cause complex issues such as discrimination? Was there a significant increase in enrollment for minorities after Affirmative

Known as one of the biggest obstacles in higher education to date would arguably be the use of affirmative action within the higher education admission process for both private and public institutions (Kaplin & Lee, 2014; Wang & Shulruf, 2012). The focus of current research is an attempt to either justify or deny the use of affirmative action within current practices through various higher education institutions, and though any one person could potentially be swayed to side with the rationale to maintain its use or disregard, the facts are quite clear that the future of this practice is unclear. Therefore, this essay will present current research in an attempt to determine if affirmative action should continue to be used

     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.

When people talk about the civil rights movement, the first thing that comes to mind is the famous speech "I have a dream" by Martin Luther King. His dream in short was to have equality among human beings. For the past thirty years, this country has been revolutionizing humanitarianism because there is greater concern for human welfare than one hundred years ago. The revolution began during the 1960 's, and during that era this country was drastically involved in changing the civil rights of minority groups. From this concern, a program called affirmative action evolved. Like other civil right movements, the affirmative action movement was implemented to promote equality.

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

In the article states that affirmative action should be banned the student lost a spot

local agencies from granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in public education, public employment or public contracting” (NCSL). Eventually there was 7 other states that followed in the steps of California and have completely banned the use of Affirmative Action policies like Florida, , Michigan, and Washington (NY Times).

Affirmative action, what is it? If you’ve listened to the news recently it’s been a hot topic. But does everyone fully understand what it is? Affirmative action refers to the favoring of minorities in certain areas, in this case college admissions. Most schools require an applying student to fill out their race on their application. No big deal right? It’s what they do with that information that causes the real issue. The admissions office at a school looks over these applications and determines which are accepted or rejected. However, if you’re a student at the lower end for test scores or GPA and are a minority, you have a much greater chance of getting accepted than a caucasian person in the same situation. If we continue to enforce affirmative action within the admissions process of colleges and universities, then the success rates of students will continue to decrease.

Affirmative action is defined as “an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women sought to achieve a multicultural staff through affirmative action; also: a similar effort to promote the rights or progress of other disadvantaged persons” (Affirmative Action, n.d.). Affirmative action is a government policy that ensures that diversity is maintained in schools and in the workplace. It’s designed to assist individuals overcome previous effects of past discrimination, and to promote social equality for socioeconomically disadvantaged people. Even in today’s modern society, there are cultural divides in both the workplace and education. This paper will discuss both the pros and

Affirmative action opens the door to diversity in a job or educational setting that would not normally be there. Not only did the diversity increase but it increased at a fast pace. Woman and minorities are usually the ones that are left at a disadvantage when in comes to having equal opportunities. There are specific jobs and universities that a minority or woman would be intimidated to apply for. Affirmative action gives them the confidence to consider these places that they would have never considered before. Lets face it, there is still plenty of discrimination and stereotyping that goes on in our society. Affirmative action gives this group of individuals the push they need to be on the same level as everyone else.

Affirmative action is when college's chosen somebody to join their colleges based on their race. This means that the kid that has the best college application could still not get into that college because of their race. Journalists all over the world try to argue the side of using or not using affirmative action. Affirmative Action should not be used in colleges because it is reverse discrimination, it sets up kids for failure, and it is biased.