Affirmative Action: Good or Bad?

When you walk around the campuses of the top prestigious colleges, what ethnicity do you mostly see? According to “At Top Colleges, an Admission Gap for Minorities” by Josh Keller, a writer for the New York Times, “Roughly 15 percent of public high school graduates are black. But despite the widespread use of affirmative action at elite colleges, only one college with a graduation rate of more than 70 percent has that many black students in its freshman class.” Out of the 4,168 colleges in the United States, it is very shocking to see that only one college (with a graduation rate of 70 percent or more) admits 15 percent of black high school graduates as freshman. The term affirmative action is thrown around all the time throughout the media but what does it actually mean? Affirmative action is an action or policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination, especially in relation to employment or education; positive discrimination. There are two opposing sides when it comes to affirmative action. There are those who believe affirmative action is needed to level the playing field, which would lead to a colorblind society. But on the other side of the fine line, there are those who believe that affirmative action is a hand out to the undeserving. They feel that they should not be punished for the actions of their ancestors and minorities should not reap the benefits of those that suffered over a hundred years ago. Clarence Thomas, a member of the Supreme Court, stated “Affirmative action placed students in programs above their abilities. I watched the operation of such affirmative action policies when I was in college and I watched the destruction of many kids.” This idea brought forth the theory “mismatch”. Mismatch refers to the idea that affirmative action is actually harming the very same people that it is supposed to help and protect. Minorities are said to have been placed at colleges that are far beyond their academic level. But is that idea not prejudice? To say that minorities do not belong at elite colleges because they are not at the same academic level as the white majority proves how much our society still needs affirmative action.

 There are many success stories that prove that affirmative action is not only a great opportunity for those who do not have the resources but also a great way to make college campuses more diverse. For example, Charles J. Ogletree Jr., an alumni of Stanford University, expressed, “Without affirmative action I would have never have applied to, and certainly not have attended Stanford. We must keep affirmative action-and keep refining it. Affirmative action admissions policies seek to realign the balance of power and opportunity by doing what is, at heart, quite simple: affirmatively including the formerly excluded.” Because affirmative action seeks to level the playing field for minorities with education, college campuses are becoming more diverse and helping minorities get ready for a very competitive world. There are some who take opportunities like affirmative action for granite but not all minorities are just looking for handouts. Whether affirmative action is a good or bad thing is still in question? You decide. Are you for or against affirmative action? Let me know in the comments.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/opinion/sunday/does-affirmative-action-do-what-it-should.html?pagewanted=all
https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=43428
 http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/05/07/education/college-admissions-gap.html?_r=0