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The Importance Of Affirmative Action
The impirtance of affirmative action
The impirtance of affirmative action
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Affirmative action is a policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination. Affirmative action is used to reduce any form of discrimination. There are two kinds of discrimination. One is de jure discrimination and the second is de facto discrimination. De jure is by law so any discrimination done by legal matters. De facto is in fact so usually society or customary practices bring about this discrimination. Affirmative action is used for positive discrimination. For example in education, schools are allowed by law, so it is de jure discrimination, to use affirmative action to increase the opportunity of the disadvantage to get into that school. Affirmative action reduces de facto discrimination and increases de jure discrimination so there is a smaller gap between the two. Another example is welfare checks; only the poor get welfare checks by affirmative action. So the fact that by law poor people only get welfare checks than it is de jure discrimination. Using affirmative action with education diversity benefits the minorities because students will get use to interacting with minorities, therefore, reducing de facto discrimination towards minorities. This benefits the state because it encourages minorities to compete to go to a school in a state where they promote diversity. If a school in a state promotes diversity than more minorities will look to apply to that school. Consequently the more people that try to get into the school the higher the income from the school will rise benefitting the state.
Grutter v Bollinger was about a student, Barbara Grutter, with a great GPA being denied admission to the University of Michigan Law School. She sued alleging that the university rejected her based on race to keep the school diverse. Bollinger was the president of the school and was the defendant. The schools admission policy allowed for the school to be diverse in race. The Supreme Court deemed the policy constitutional. The school’s admission policy is a “highly individualized, holistic review of each applicant's file” according to Justice O’Connor. Basically it is constitutional because the school wanted to promote school diversity, which can improve an individual’s social education, not race discrimination. It is important because the Supreme Court allowed affirmative action in school admission. Justice Thomas had a different opinion. According to Thomas, “there is no compelling state interest in Michigan maintaining an elite law school, due to the fact that a number of states do not have law schools, let alone elite ones.
Over the course of the recent past, universities across the U.S. have been faced with decisions on admissions. What was once popular, affirmative action, is now fading with a long past of problems, and new programs are entering into the picture. The University of Dayton and many others are taking actions to improve the standards of their students, regardless of race and background. These new concepts are reflecting higher academic progress, and increase in prestige and national reputation. By basing selection on academic ability and incorporating improved recruiting techniques, the nation would be filled with greater college standards and no use for an old and tiring affirmative action process.
We all have heard regarding the controversial arguments and debates regarding whether affirmative action is valid under U.S. Constitution. Before discussing whether to support or refute affirmative action, there is a need for all of us to know what affirmative action really is. By definition, affirmative action policies are those institutions and organizations vigorously engages in an effort work of improving the lives of minorities in the United States (NCSL). This means that institutions attempt to find ways to provide groups that have been historically excluded from American society equal accesses to public necessities such as education, salary pay, and so forth. To me, the application of the affirmative action in the society we live in clearly violates the Fourteenth Amendment, which forbids authorities to “deny...any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (The Library of Congress). Throughout this research paper we will go into details and explain four reasons why affirmative action violates the Fourteenth Amendments and should be unconstitutional. These reasons are as follows: the development of reverse discrimination, the creation of stigma against women and minorities, the buildup of racial tension, and the fact of attempting to solve a racial problem that no longer exist.
Affirmative action or positive discrimination can be defined as providing advantages for people of a minority group who are seen to have traditionally been discriminated against. This consists of preferential access to education, employment, health care, or social welfare. In employment, affirmative action may also be known as employment equity. Affirmative action requires that institutions increase hiring and promotion of candidates of mandated groups. (Rubenfeld, 1997, p. 429)
When the Civil Rights Bill was being debated on the floor of the Senate, Barry Goldwater predicted that this particular bill might be abused. Herbert Humphrey, however, stated that he would eat every page of the bill if ever it were used to justify discrimination against anybody on account of race or sex. The bill eventually passed and became the Civil Rights Act. From college admissions to government contracts, the Civil Rights Act has been grossly abused by giving race and gender primary consideration in admissions and hiring, resulting in blatant reverse discrimination.
Grutter v. Bollinger 539 U.S. 306 (2003) - In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowly upheld the decision to allow colleges and universities to use race as a component in their admissions policies by ruling in favor of the University of Michigan’s law school admissions
Is it possible to fill out a job application, apply for college, or even fill out a simple survey without being asked to provide one’s ethnicity? I often wonder how many people actually look at the information I provide instead of the fact that I happen to be Hispanic. Does that make me any different? It is extremely frustrating to realize that despite the civil rights victories of the twenty-first century, our society is still obsessed with race. Advocates of affirmative action will love to tell the American people that minorities are truly benefited by these policies, and that they are thankful for the compensation of the discrimination of their ancestors. Here is one minority who will tell you very differently. Affirmative action is a process of reverse discrimination, giving me unfair advantages based on my race, disregarding my academic abilities and personal motivation. It is degrading that colleges do not think that I can succeed without my ethnicity being a factor in the admissions process. Affirmative action is in no way beneficial to the minorities today, and history will show how it is slowly turning into a process of reverse discrimination.
The Supreme Court's ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger and in Gratz v. Bollinger are two compelling and complex cases. In the Grutter v. Bollinger case, the Supreme court favored that race and ethnicity along with other factors are justifiable in the admission process of promoting a diverse and inclusive student body on the premises of state law schools. I agree with the court's decision because minorities only make up a small percentage on college campuses and universities, and that race and ethnicity does play a crucial role in recruiting students of colors from various cultural backgrounds. Students must be trained scholars who know how to interact with people from all walks of life and they must be able to adapt and understand different people in different environments in a given context. The goal is for everyone
Affirmative action is a much debated topic based on the efforts of our government to overcome prejudicial treatment through inclusion. Affirmative action is a way of helping minorities in our country get jobs and avoid racial injustice. Many large companies have increased their employment of minorities after adopting these policies (Plous).
Many individuals do not know the meaning of the term “affirmative action.” In order to clearly understand the issue, one must first know the necessary terms associated with it. Affirmative action is a term given to an action or policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination (i.e. African Americans, Asians, etc.). For example, certain scholarships for African Americans can be regarded as affirmative action opportunities. Another example of affirmative action could be an institutional program designed for African Americans. So why is it important? Affirmative action policies and programs are designed to insure that qualified individuals of minority groups have equal access to programs and are “to par” with other individuals of the same merit. Please note that I said qualified and of the same merit. Affirmative action does not place individuals in minority groups at an advantage. This is a common misconception by some people. Affirmative action can be seen in the college admission process, the promotion process for higher-level positions, and in other various areas. The goal is to
Question at Issue Affirmative action was implemented with the idea and hope that America would finally become truly equal. The tension of the 1960's civil rights movement had made it very clear, that the nation's minority and female population were not receiving equal social and economic opportunity. The implementation of affirmative action was America's first honest attempt at solving a problem, it had previously chose to ignore. However, there are many people that don't see affirmative action as a positive solution to this major societal problem of racial inequality. These people feel that Affirmative action uses reverse discrimination to solve the problem of discrimination in the workplace. The Enthymeme Affirmative action uses reverse discrimination to solve the problem of discrimination because Affirmative action makes employers have to choose from the best available employee from the minorities, instead of having the possibility to choose simply the best employee. A= Affirmative action v1= uses B= reverse discrimination to solve the problem of discrimination Because A= Affirmative action v2= makes C= employers have to choose from the best available employee from the minorities, instead of having the possibility to choose the best available employee. Assumption: Anything that makes employers have to choose from the best available employee from the minorities, instead of having to simply choosing the best available employee uses reverse discrimination to solve the problem of discrimination. Assumption and Audience The assumption for this paper will appeal to employees who do not qualify for Affirmative action, as well as employers and minorities. Employees not qualifying for...
Throughout the world America is referred to as the land of opportunity a place where opportunity is limitless, but is that so called limitless opportunity available and equal for all? For years Affirmative Action has tried to level the laying field, but its black field workers are still being oppressed. It is evident that Affirmative action is ineffective with the differences in the number of employed black's compared to whites and their difficulties to get and keep a job, blacks repetition in society has been tarnished due to stereotypes, and blacks face hidden discrimination.
In 1978, in University of California Regents v. Bakke, the U.S. Supreme Court held (5-4) that fixed quotas may not be set for places for minority applicants for medical school if white applicants are denied a chance to compete for those places. The court, however, did say that professional schools may consider race as a factor in making decisions on admissions. More recently than the Regents decision, in United Steelworkers of America V. Weber (1979) and Fullilove v. Klutznick (1980), the court continued to hold for affirmative action.
Affirmative action was created to assist minority groups against discrimination, but affirmative action does more harm than what it can do to help. Affirmative action was created with the intention of leveling the playing field so that everyone can have an equal opportunity to be hired or accepted in to a school, but it does the opposite of what it is meant to do. Affirmative action is reverse discrimination against white males, lesser qualified people are admitted into jobs and colleges, and not all people have an equal opportunity to advance.
Social inequality, an issue that has been debated many times throughout the years, has discrimination, racism and sexism. Since people have to deal with this every day, social inequality seems like it will never disappear. However, society believes that their answer to solving this problem has been created, which is Affirmative Action. The purpose of affirmative action is to acquire more diversity and to control the basis of racism in America. This idea is to represent equality for women and minorities who work and are attending universities. For example, when applying to universities, they always ask about your ethnicity, depending on what race you are, you have the upper hand of getting into the school. This is how Universities are trying to bring more diversity and affirmative action is a great idea. However, looking at the sociological attributes to the idea of affirmative action, it does not seem like it is the best way to handle social inequality. In order for affirmative action to truly be a success in society, there are three aspects that need to be analysis: functional analysis (functionalism), conflict theory, symbolic interactionism. Through these three aspects, the advantages and disadvantages of affirmative action will be shown.
The issue of affirmative action has been a controversial one since its inception. The law was developed during the 1960’s as a result of the civil rights movement and the need to address injustices committed against minorities throughout the United States history. There were multiple attempts to correct the inequities between the majority and the various minorities including the 13, 14 and 15th Amendments. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 allowed for the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to create rules to end discrimination. Affirmative action came into being with the executive order 11246 issued by President Johnson. The Civil Rights Act and President Johnson’s executive order have been updated throughout the years to address gender, disabilities, age and other characteristics that could be considered discriminatory.