Affirmative Action within Universities

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Recommended: Regents of California V. Bakke

Since the election of President Barack Obama, many people have adopted the idea that the nation has progressed and there are even some people who trust that it is now time to halt school, housing, and employment affirmative action policies. Sadly though, many people are unaware of the fact that there has been an upsurge in hate crimes and racial profiling. Because of this, there is a chasm between black and white success in schools, career prospects, housing, and quality of health care (Sadler 1140-1141). But in recent years, affirmative action has been questioned. Michigan, Washington, California and Florida have outlawed affirmative action policies, and Colorado and Nebraska have pushed for anti-affirmative efforts (Sadler 1156). Affirmative action policies within Universities initially became a controversial issue when a white male was rejected from a medical school program which was primarily aimed towards minorities. This particular court case, Regents of University of California v. Bakke 1978, went to the Supreme Court and marked the beginning of several upcoming disputes regarding affirmative action policies within the school system. The court supported the University, because the University desired a diverse student population, meaning no true favoritism was taking part. Though the court did not concentrate on the core concern (race), the case only helped arrange the platform for future proceedings regarding affirmative action (Russo 263-264). Once affirmative action policies were implemented, “virtually every institution in American life, including colleges and universities, came under pressure, legal and political, to take ‘affirmative’ steps to address the impact of the continuing effects of social discrimination” (Elli... ... middle of paper ... ...nson, Kevin R. 2003. The Last Twenty Five Years Of Affirmative Action? Constitutional Commentary 21.1 (2004): 171-190. Murray, Kerrel. 2014. Good Will Hunting: How The Supreme Court's Hunter Doctrine Can Still Shield Minorities From Political-Process Discrimination. Stanford Law Review 66.2 (2014): 443-475. Russo, Charles J., and Ralph D. Mawdsley. 2003. Recent Developments in The USA: American Update: The Supreme Court And Affirmative Action. Education & The Law 15.4 (2003): 263-274. Sadler, Joanne, and Joseph Sankoh. 2010. Can Affirmative Action Survive A Black President: A Look At Affirmative Action In The Era Of President Barack Obama. NAAAS & Affiliates Conference Monographs (2011): 1139-1163. Walsh, Mark. 2013. "High Court To Tackle Race Case." Education Week 33.6 (2013): 1-23. Yoo, John. Race and The Constitution. National Review 65.1 (2013): 39-43.

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