Affirmative Action - Should Race be a Factor in Deciding College Admissions?
Should race be a deciding factor for college admissions? The debate is one that is hotly contested among students and administrators alike. Many feel that in a tight job market acquiring a college educational is an essential prerequisite for career advancement (Worsnop, 1996) thus competition for admission to many of the nation's best universities is increasing.
In addition tuition expenses are also rapidly rising and applicants are seeking out more and more scholarships and other forms of academic assistance to overcome financial obstacles. Most employers seek out candidates that have at minimum acquired an undergraduate degree. Thus competition is fierce and candidates are seeking out equal opportunities not only with respect to admissions but also with respect to financial assistance.
Currently the state of the educational system at higher universities is in flux. Many universities report that minority populations are under-represented, particularly among top level universities in this country. As a result, many Universities have embarked on campaigns to recruit minorities including African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans, traditionally under represented on many campuses (Worsnop, 1996). As part of these campaigns, affirmative action programs have been adopted by many top level universities as a means for balancing out the student population.
There are many that argue that these policies are necessary to provide minority applicants the opportunity to enjoy a top level university education. Critics however claim that such policies produce an environment of reverse discrimination, preventing otherwise qualified white applicants from enjoying a top level university education. These ideas and more are explored in detail below.
Affirmative Action: Beneficial or Not?
Proponents of affirmative action on campus claim that minorities are still largely unrepresented, making up less than a handful of the top universities populations (Worsnop, 1996). Administrators believe that affirmative action programs help favor students that are academically qualified but underrepresented on campus. Thus many top university administrators argue in favor of affirmative action plans that would allow a greater percentage of minorities to attend their university.
They claim it is necessary to balance out the student population and create an ethnically diverse atmosphere. Such an atmosphere according to many is more conducive to higher learning (Jost, 2001). An ethically diverse atmosphere encourages learning and self development according to others (Gurin, Dey, Hurtado & Gurin, 2002).
Another argument in favor of affirmative action made by admissions officials is that regardless of ones race, it is still essential that a candidate possess adequate grades and test scores, which are a critical factor weighed during the review process (Worsnop, 1996). Minorities are so underrepresented in many of the nation's top colleges that some have claimed that the university environment may be considered segregated in nature rather than integrated (Phillips, 1994). Thus supporters assert that the applicants being favored are still considered highly qualified to attend the university, and there is no reasons they shouldn't be given preference over other candidates.
Yet another argument for affirmative action is that other candidates including sought after athletes often receive special consideration as well as children of alumni (Worsnop, 1996; Kennedy, 2004) thus it is only fair that underprivileged or underrepresented students are afforded the same opportunities for special consideration.
According to Jean H. Fetter, a former dean of undergraduate admissions at Stanford, "the dilemma of unequal opportunities is so apparent in the academic criterion is ever present in these situations too. Students from economically disadvantaged classes may have fewer opportunities to engage in extracurricular activities" (Worsnop, 1996).
Those that oppose affirmative action in the school system argue in part that the economics of affording a college education particularly among elite universities is as much a hardship for white students as it is for non-minorities. The cost of a college education is in fact rising at a rate "higher than the Consumer Price Index" (Worsnop, 1996).
Other researchers have pointed out that integration of the nations schools may have had a negative rather than a positive effect particularly on African-American children's "academic and social development" (Phillips, 1994) claiming that integration in the schools has only led to tension. School integration according to many treats black students differently from other ethnic and racial groups. Clifford Bennet a professor of education at UVA claims that "many blacks who grew up in segregated schools now question desegregation.
Many would say they received excellent educations and a good sense of who they are" when attending segregated universities in part because of the predominance of white teachers that don't have high expectations for black students...
Actually, state agencies and institutions of higher learning have continued to rely upon the Supreme Court decisions and federal legislation to enforce the policies of affirmative action since 1978. While there are no definitive answers on whether affirmative action policies and programs are necessary, scholars and civic leaders have been engaged in hot debates to determine the implications of measures to dismantle affirmative action policies and programs. There are various
Affirmative Action: Why We Need to Reform It It is widely believed that the American society is a "melting pot" where members of racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities eventually mold into the mainstream, becoming full-fledged citizens of the country. The reality, however, is much more complicated. While it is true that America offers many opportunities to all its citizens, there is a history of discrimination against minority groups that affects
Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity The policies of affirmative action aiming at assisting the black Americans are of recent origin. The policies have sought its origin to varied sources like legal structure, executive instructions, and court rulings. It was during the last three decades that these policies were being developed and they have become debatable as well. (Legal History) During the last three decades of the nineteenth century, a large number of African-Americans
367) According to Sander, none of these questions have been asked effectively and therefore we as a nation continue to believe that affirmative action is a necessary social development for the creation of a more representative society, where disenfranchisement must be answered by active plans, policies and laws. Few of us would enthusiastically support preferential admission policies if we did not believe they played a powerful, irreplaceable role in giving nonwhites
With this ruling the Court upheld legality of affirmative action. In considering the reasoning behind the Court's upholding of the highly debated principle, the rationale was that to remedy past discrimination, a program that is race-based must be put into effect. Clearly, the Court was concerned with becoming intertwined in the daily administration of academic programs, and the same would have likely held true for the workplace. The Bakke case had
Introduction This paper aims to appraise the document submitted to the United States Supreme Court by the American Sociological Association (ASA) on a Michigan Law School case. This paper presents a summary of the argument maintained by the ASA. This paper further presents an argument on race's relevance by college admissions officers in deciding whom to accept into a college. Ethnic and racial diversity in the student body is considered a valuable
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now