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Affirmative
action past prime
The Supreme Court Monday agreed to decide
by next June whether affirmative action
programs should continue to be used in determining
college admissions, or whether affirmative
action leads to “reverse discrimination”
against white students.
The last time the Supreme Court addressed
the topic of affirmative action in public
universities was in the 1978 Bakke case
in which the court ruled that the University
of California, Davis could not hold a number
of places for minorities, but in support
of the decision, one of the justices wrote
that under some circumstances race should
be considered. The Bakke case did not clear
up any of the existing confusion over affirmative
action.
Because the Supreme Court will now have
to decide whether race can be used when
considering college admission, the decision
is expected to be clearer.
Affirmative action is an incredibly difficult
topic to argue for or against because there
are numerous valid arguments for each side.
Supporters of affirmative action argue that
the program provides equal opportunities
to minorities who have not had the same
opportunities as many non-minority students
because of various social factors and works
to increase the admission rate of minorities
who are, in fact, under represented in colleges.
Those who oppose affirmative action argue
that admission decisions should be based
solely upon qualifications and that the
discrimination begins when race or gender
is taken into account. Critics of affirmative
action argue that the best of any colored
woman or man should be accepted into a school
and no special privileges should be offered
to anyone.
We believe that affirmative action in the
nation’s universities was necessary to promote
diversity when it was initiated many years
ago and since then, it has served to benefit
minorities and offer them equal opportunities.
However, today, although discrimination
still exists and probably always will, much
of it has been dispelled, especially concerning
college admission. Affirmative action based
on race or gender has gone as far as it
can go while remaining positive. If it is
allowed to go on much longer we will only
continue to see people being hurt because
of it.
Furthermore, social inequalities do exist
and always will. In fact, the gap between
the “haves” and the “have-nots” continues
to grow. For this reason affirmative action
should turn its focus toward the economic
inequality rather than race and gender.
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