Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Thoughts on the Principles of Affirmative Action
Although I do not completely agree with the manner in which affirmative action was carried out in certain cases, I understand its principles. As the book states, “In order to treat people equally you must treat them differently.” For many decades, African Americans were discriminated against in every field solely on the bases of their skin color. They were forced to attend inferior schools and live in poverty stricken areas. Although the laws eventually changed, the conditions were and still are slow to catch up. In fact, even today, many inner city schools in African American communities pale in comparison to predominately white suburban schools. Thus, even the best students in inner city schools cannot compete with their white counterparts because of the discrepancies in the educational quality they received. If both groups of students were to apply to college on a strictly colorblind bases, the white students would get in while the minority students with an inferior educational background would most likely not. Therefore, the challenges that a student overcomes must also be taken into account. The minority student could not help that their educational system deprived them or lacked sufficient resources. This, however, does not mean that white students should be discriminated against in turn; it just means that hard working minority students should also get a shot. Thus, equal opportunity cannot be colorblind to be equal.
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Well put Stephanie. I think you put this controversial topic into perspective of education. To some affirmative action appears to be outdated. They believe that discrimination minorities face today is no longer substantial to the degree of meriting special consideration or aid when being accepted to colleges and universities. This is a misconception to think that racial minorities in the U.S. are now on a completely level playing field in terms of education, they are not. Inner-city public schools are likely to match up unevenly in resources and quality of teachers that suburban schools enjoy. These inner-city schools typically have more students that are racial minorities. The reason for these minorities to enroll in inner-city schools is a direct result low income. This lower income is partly due to past and current discrimination as well immigration in the case of the Hispanic population. These students deserve recognition for overcoming these socioeconomic obstacles as well as additional support in pursuing higher education.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I would extend this aid of affirmative action to all the students that attend these inner-city schools. All the students at an inner-city are subject to the same quality of education. By no means do I think you oppose this Stephanie, but I would argue that the white student who sits next to the minority student all throughout high school in inner-city Detroit or Albuquerque deserves similar aid that the minority student received. The minority student still needs to be protected from racial discrimination though, so having quotas on sufficiently-qualified minority students at public universities is beneficial to avoid any racial discrimination on behalf of the admissions officers. To those of us from the west coast, myself included, or the northern part of the United States this may seem like a foreign idea that in this day in age racial discrimination could still exist in something like college admissions. But it does not seem all too unreal that this could happen in the South where confederate flags still fly and schools continue to have races in separate schools because of the southern culture.