Affirmative action has been the subject of increasing debate and tension inAmerican society. Affirmative action is the nations most ambitious attempt toredress the issues of racial and sexual discrimination. According to theUniversity of Rhode Island, Affirmative action is defined as, the specificactions in recruitment, hiring, upgrading and other areas designed and taken forthe purpose of eliminating the present effects of past discrimination, orpresent discrimination (www. riuniversity. edu , 8).
This allows minorities andwomen to be given special consideration in education and many other areas. Theneed for affirmative action is essential to college admissions credentials. Institutions with affirmative action policies generally set goals for increaseddiversity and equal opportunity among minority students. Our society is not oneof equality, but affirmative action provides a way that problems with inequalitycan be address to the public. Minorities such as African-Americans, Asians, andHispanics live mostly in urban areas that have large populations. Therefore,many minorities normally attend lower quality schools.
Colleges usually do nottake into account that students come from different backgrounds and differentquality schools. The students that have better intermediate and secondaryschools have an advantage in college admissions, which exclude many minorities. Affirmative action helps students who come from a lower quality secondary schoolto have a chance to prove themselves in accredited college. Another advantage ofaffirmative action is that it provides an environment of diversity. Diversity isessential to colleges and students.
As part of higher education, students learnfrom face-to-face interaction with faculty member and other students to workproductively inside and outside the classroom. Racial diversity can enhancecollege atmosphere by improving communications. It can also developunderstanding among individuals of different races. Affirmative action can helpstudents overcome prejudices when students discover just how much they have incommon with their peers from other races.
The educational benefit of affirmativeaction is that majority of the students who has previously lack significantdirect exposure to minorities, frequently have the most to gain from interactionwith individuals. Diversity on college and university campuses may be somethingthat helps people expand their mind, or be open to new opportunities. In thearticle Needed documentation of how affirmative action benefits allstudents, it discusses how it is essential t colleges and students to haveminorities on the campuses (6). In the section, The Evidence for Diversity: Thenand Now, it states: In Justice Powells opinion, Baake relied heavily on theHarvard Plan.
The admissions policy of Harvard College include justification forconsidering race as one of many factors used in deciding whom to admit. The planstated that of Harvard College is to continue to offer first rate educationto its students, minority representation in the undergraduate body would beignored (2). Justice Powell went on to support diversity plan, which was in1978. I the seventies, the same things were happening as it is today.
Peoplewere fighting to have their race or someone elses as a factor in collegeadmissions. Although this happened at Harvard in 1978, it continues today allover the United States. The article goes on to state that twenty years latermuch has changed, yet we still rely on anecdotal evidence to support the claimthat a racially diverse student body is essential to quality education (2). Affirmative action dealing with college is still trying to make campuses a morediverse place with a racially diverse student body.
Admitting someone intocollege or a university because they are smart, not only gives them a chance tobe someone, but it also allows that campus to be diversified. In the article,Diversity Fades on Campus, it says schools routinely make exceptionsfor jocks, the children of big donors and alumni, and friends of power brokers. So why shouldnt these same schools be allowed to make exceptions for minoritystudents. Minority students need the same advantages as jocks or students ofbig donors to have an equal opportunity in school. Affirmative action gives thesame exceptions that some students who arent minorities receive t get intocollege. According to Jackie Snow in the article The Positive Aspects ofAffirmative Action the author states that minority and women remaineconomically disadvantage.
Also it points out that the average women with amaster degree earns the same amount of as the average men with an associatesdegree (42). When you hear about things like this, it makes minority feel likeequality is something we will never reach. This maybe why in the pasttwenty-five years, the rate of students entering college dropped by 25% lessthan that of whites, and for Hispanics 49%. There are many people who dontsee affirmative action as a positive thing and would like to see it eliminated. People need to realize that thirty years of affirmative action is not enoughtime solve all of historys problem.
Affirmative action has progressedsignificantly in helping the problem of racial inequality in America. Affirmative action is something society needs to support, until better and moreeffective plans are proposed. People who are against affirmative action, havetheir opinion for not wanting it. The argument of being for and being againstaffirmative action is going to keep growing larger and larger until the battleto keep it will never end.
There two good sides to this controversy. Being forit holds so many positive points for society and making better. Minorities canhave a better chance of getting into a top college and universities. The side ofbeing against affirmative action has some useful opinions because some peoplefeel that society doesnt need to be changed. Also they feel that affirmativeaction will injure white men and violate their rights and feel thatnondiscrimination will achieve our social goals and that stronger affirmativeaction is unnecessary. Everyone deserves a chance to do something and besomeone.
Getting admitted into college maybe the step that minorities need tofeel that we can reach equality. The minority race has always been looked downupon and though this wont solve the problem, it will help reach that goal. Asa minority in todays society, I am for affirmative action and at the sametime against it. I support the idea that affirmative action will benefit acollege community by making it more diverse. If you look at the statistics andattitudes of people, this provides a powerful evidence of intractablediscrimination against women and minorities.
I dont feel that affirmativeaction can be used to solve the problem from the past. I feel that affirmativeaction is a positive aim but should not be used to justify equality. Until theday 100% of minorities can say they arent being discriminated against,affirmative action should continue. Affirmative Action Affirmative action hasbeen the subject of increasing debate and tension in American society. Affirmative action is the nations most ambitious attempt to redress theissues of racial and sexual discrimination. According to the University of RhodeIsland, Affirmative action is defined as, the specific actions in recruitment,hiring, upgrading and other areas designed and taken for the purpose ofeliminating the present effects of past discrimination, or presentdiscrimination (www.
riuniversity. edu , 8). This allows minorities and women tobe given special consideration in education and many other areas. The need foraffirmative action is essential to college admissions credentials.
Institutionswith affirmative action policies generally set goals for increased diversity andequal opportunity among minority students. Our society is not one of equality,but affirmative action provides a way that problems with inequality can beaddress to the public. Minorities such as African-Americans, Asians, andHispanics live mostly in urban areas that have large populations. Therefore,many minorities normally attend lower quality schools. Colleges usually do nottake into account that students come from different backgrounds and differentquality schools. The students that have better intermediate and secondaryschools have an advantage in college admissions, which exclude many minorities.
Affirmative action helps students who come from a lower quality secondary schoolto have a chance to prove themselves in accredited college. Another advantage ofaffirmative action is that it provides an environment of diversity. Diversity isessential to colleges and students. As part of higher education, students learnfrom face-to-face interaction with faculty member and other students to workproductively inside and outside the classroom. Racial diversity can enhancecollege atmosphere by improving communications.
It can also developunderstanding among individuals of different races. Affirmative action can helpstudents overcome prejudices when students discover just how much they have incommon with their peers from other races. The educational benefit of affirmativeaction is that majority of the students who has previously lack significantdirect exposure to minorities, frequently have the most to gain from interactionwith individuals. Diversity on college and university campuses may be somethingthat helps people expand their mind, or be open to new opportunities. In thearticle Needed documentation of how affirmative action benefits allstudents, it discusses how it is essential t colleges and students to haveminorities on the campuses (6). In the section, The Evidence for Diversity: Thenand Now, it states: In Justice Powells opinion, Baake relied heavily on theHarvard Plan.
The admissions policy of Harvard College include justification forconsidering race as one of many factors used in deciding whom to admit. The planstated that of Harvard College is to continue to offer first rate educationto its students, minority representation in the undergraduate body would beignored (2). Justice Powell went on to support diversity plan, which was in1978. I the seventies, the same things were happening as it is today.
Peoplewere fighting to have their race or someone elses as a factor in collegeadmissions. Although this happened at Harvard in 1978, it continues today allover the United States. The article goes on to state that twenty years latermuch has changed, yet we still rely on anecdotal evidence to support the claimthat a racially diverse student body is essential to quality education (2). Affirmative action dealing with college is still trying to make campuses a morediverse place with a racially diverse student body.
Admitting someone intocollege or a university because they are smart, not only gives them a chance tobe someone, but it also allows that campus to be diversified. In the article,Diversity Fades on Campus, it says schools routinely make exceptionsfor jocks, the children of big donors and alumni, and friends of power brokers. So why shouldnt these same schools be allowed to make exceptions for minoritystudents. Minority students need the same advantages as jocks or students ofbig donors to have an equal opportunity in school. Affirmative action gives thesame exceptions that some students who arent minorities receive t get intocollege.
According to Jackie Snow in the article The Positive Aspects ofAffirmative Action the author states that minority and women remaineconomically disadvantage. Also it points out that the average women with amaster degree earns the same amount of as the average men with an associatesdegree (42). When you hear about things like this, it makes minority feel likeequality is something we will never reach. This maybe why in the pasttwenty-five years, the rate of students entering college dropped by 25% lessthan that of whites, and for Hispanics 49%. There are many people who dontsee affirmative action as a positive thing and would like to see it eliminated.
People need to realize that thirty years of affirmative action is not enoughtime solve all of historys problem. Affirmative action has progressedsignificantly in helping the problem of racial inequality in America. Affirmative action is something society needs to support, until better and moreeffective plans are proposed. People who are against affirmative action, havetheir opinion for not wanting it. The argument of being for and being againstaffirmative action is going to keep growing larger and larger until the battleto keep it will never end. There two good sides to this controversy.
Being forit holds so many positive points for society and making better. Minorities canhave a better chance of getting into a top college and universities. The side ofbeing against affirmative action has some useful opinions because some peoplefeel that society doesnt need to be changed. Also they feel that affirmativeaction will injure white men and violate their rights and feel thatnondiscrimination will achieve our social goals and that stronger affirmativeaction is unnecessary.
Everyone deserves a chance to do something and besomeone. Getting admitted into college maybe the step that minorities need tofeel that we can reach equality. The minority race has always been looked downupon and though this wont solve the problem, it will help reach that goal. Asa minority in todays society, I am for affirmative action and at the sametime against it.
I support the idea that affirmative action will benefit acollege community by making it more diverse. If you look at the statistics andattitudes of people, this provides a powerful evidence of intractablediscrimination against women and minorities. I dont feel that affirmativeaction can be used to solve the problem from the past. I feel that affirmativeaction is a positive aim but should not be used to justify equality.
Until theday 100% of minorities can say they arent being discriminated against,affirmative action should continue.Legal Issues
