Affirmative Action?

Chris Massad

Affirmative Action has been a controversial issue worldwide. Affirmative action is a policy that focuses on aiding and favoring those who suffer from racial discrimination. It has been and still is today a problem for university and college admission offices. Many schools believe that affirmative action benefits their classrooms because racial diversity makes for a well-rounded mind and creates opportunities for less fortunate students. Schools like the University of Michigan heavily support the policy, and because the ideology is so controversial, the Supreme Court got involved. “Race cannot be an overriding factor for schools' admissions programs, the court ruled, saying that such plans can lead to unconstitutional policies. In separate decisions the high court struck down a point system used by the University of Michigan's undergraduate programs.”
The unethical question is that is it fair to reject someone from a university solely because of the color of their skin? In 2008, “Ballot measures proposing to ban affirmative action goes before voters in two states, Nebraska and Colorado. The ban passes with more than 50% of the vote in Nebraska. Voters in Colorado, though, reject the proposed ban.”
Many schools however, despite that fact that it creates a diverse student body, are against the ideals of affirmative action. Many universities today believe that it “leads to reverse discrimination, and that it leads to hiring people based on race, gender, etc., rather than merit. They argue that Affirmative Action actually makes people more biased against each other, as it increases the sense of ‘us versus them’." Colleges do enjoy diversity in the classroom but believe that acceptance should be based on merits and credentials not skin color. These schools are typically private institutions and favor giving scholarships to the less fortunate applicants.
It is argued that affirmative action was necessary in the past, but now that the numbers of minorities entering upper-management ranks are growing, discrimination is decreasing, and affirmative action is now unnecessary. Race has been a factor not only in schools, but also in the work place, and it will continue to be in the future. If minorities are not given benefits, they are being discriminated against, but if they are treated equally, reverse discrimination arises. It is an unavoidable conflict, and admission offices are challenged with this issue every year.