A class-based system would help eliminate the race factor that goes along with the current affirmative action. In addition, it would diminish the perception that minorities are given unearned admission. I too agree with this change, as many of my friends believe that I have received the scholarships I have and gained entry into certain schools simply because of my race. If this change in the current affirmative action mandate were to take place it would alter their beliefs and they would realize that not only did I deserve those scholarships but I also needed them. The University of Texas has made way in class-based affirmative action by creating a non-race based affirmative action model known as the Top Ten Model. This model guarantees that every Texas student who graduates in the top ten percent of their high school class will receive admission to the university. Many have argued that this still leaves out specific majors and classes that are not diversified and minority students with higher test scores that are not in the top ten percent. The courts ruled against the plaintiffs’ argument and the model still stands in place today. Many people believe that affirmative action is hurtful to minorities and women as it tells them the only way they can succeed is through the policy’s help. Although this may be true in some cases, studies and review cases have said otherwise. Affirmative action actually raises self-esteem as it provides them with the opportunity to advance in academic and employment opportunities. In fact, many big named corporations such as, AT&T, IBM and Sears have increased minority employment since they began using affirmative action. I do not think anyone would be upset with the chance to get ahead in life. We ha... ... middle of paper ... ...rmative Action And Higher Education." San Diego Law Review 50.2 (2013): 441-467. Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. Oh, Euna, et al. "Beliefs About Affirmative Action: A Test Of The Group Self-Interest And Racism Beliefs Models." Journal Of Diversity In Higher Education 3.3 (2010): 163-176. PsycARTICLES. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. Burns, Prue, and Jan Schapper. "The Ethical Case For Affirmative Action." Journal Of Business Ethics 83.3 (2008): 369-379. Business Source Complete. Web. 4 May 2014. Allen, Anita. "Was I Entitled Or Should I Apologize? Affirmative Action Going Forward." Journal Of Ethics 15.3 (2011): 253-263. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 May 2014. Fairlie, Robert, and Justin Marion. "Affirmative Action Programs And Business Ownership Among Minorities And Women." Small Business Economics 39.2 (2012): 319-339. Business Source Complete. Web. 4 May 2014.
Discrimination is still a chronic global issue, and drastic inequalities still exist at the present time. Thus, the Affirmative Action Law is an important tool to many minorities most especially to women, and people of color, for the reason that this program provides an equality on educational, and professional opportunities for every qualified individual living in the United States. Without this program, a higher education would have been impossible for a “minority students” to attain. Additionally, without the Affirmative Action, a fair opportunity to have a higher-level career...
Awad, Germine H., Kevin Cokley, and Joseph Ravitch. "Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action: A Comparison Of Color-Blind Versus Modern Racist Attitudes." Journal Of Applied Social Psychology 35.7 (2005): 1384-1399. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
majority, does not advance the cause of minorities in a meaningful way, and needs to be
Affirmative action, the act of giving preference to an individual for hiring or academic admission based on the race and/or gender of the individual has remained a controversial issue since its inception decades ago. Realizing its past mistake of discriminating against African Americans, women, and other minority groups; the state has legalized and demanded institutions to practice what many has now consider as reverse discrimination. “Victims” of reverse discrimination in college admissions have commonly complained that they were unfairly rejected admission due to their race. They claimed that because colleges wanted to promote diversity, the colleges will often prefer to accept applicants of another race who had significantly lower test scores and merit than the “victims”. In “Discrimination and Disidentification: The Fair-Start Defense of Affirmative Action”, Kenneth Himma responded to these criticisms by proposing to limit affirmative action to actions that negate unfair competitive advantages of white males established by institutions (Himma 277 L. Col.). Himma’s views were quickly challenged by his peers as Lisa Newton stated in “A Fair Defense of a False Start: A Reply to Kenneth Himma” that among other rationales, the Fair-Start Defense based on race and gender is a faulty justification for affirmative action (Newton 146 L. Col.). This paper will also argue that the Fair-Start Defense based on race and gender is a faulty justification for affirmative action because it cannot be fairly applied in the United States of America today. However, affirmative action should still be allowed and reserved for individuals whom the state unfairly discriminates today.
More importantly, Mr. Watulak mentions that "affirmative action has some rather unpleasant racist assumptions hiding behind it. The clear implication that minorities could not adequately get ahead without special considerations seems just a touch bigoted." I agree with this because even though affirmative action looks like a positive policy for minorities, it may have a lot of negative consequences as well. It can be true that it has increased job opportunities for minorities but the question is whether it has done so for correct reasons. For example, when a minority gets a high position in a corporation, the other employers may think about why this person received this position.
Affirmative action has been a controversial topic ever since it was established in the 1960s to right past wrongs against minority groups, such as African Americans, Hispanics, and women. The goal of affirmative action is to integrate minorities into public institutions, like universities, who have historically been discriminated against in such environments. Proponents claim that it is necessary in order to give minorities representation in these institutions, while opponents say that it is reverse discrimination. Newsweek has a story on this same debate which has hit the nation spotlight once more with a case being brought against the University of Michigan by some white students who claimed that the University’s admissions policies accepted minority students over them, even though they had better grades than the minority students. William Symonds of Business Week, however, thinks that it does not really matter. He claims that minority status is more or less irrelevant in college admissions and that class is the determining factor.
Pojman, Louis P. "The Case Against Affirmative Action." Csus.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
Works Cited Page Affirmative Action: Part 1 Enforcing Equality, " An Affirmative Action Primer", The Virginia Pilot. 1995. Pilot Online. 12, September 1998. Heilman, Madeline. Study: Affirmative Action Hires Abilities Doubted @. Money Magazine, Aug. 31, 1992, 3B. Kahlenberg, Richard D. The Remedy. New York; BasicBooks, 1996. M., Marsha. "Untitled". Tidewater Community College. November, 1998. Roberts, Paul Craig., and Lawrence M. Stratton. The New Color Line. Washington, DC; Regnery Publishing, 1995.
Payne, Angela R., and Bharat S. Thakkar. "The Hypocrisy Of Affirmative Action: Race And The Labor Market." International Journal Of Innovations In Business 1.4 (2012): 274-292. Business Source Premier. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
Affirmative Action Affirmative action can be defined as action taken to compensate for past unfairness in the education of minorities. The current system of affirmative action allows universities to admit applicants from certain ethnic and minority groups with lower credentials. The main purpose of affirmative action is to produce a diverse campus population that is comparable to today's society. The use of race as a facto by which someone is admitted to college in the long run will compromise the quality of the university. Implicating affirmative action to solve the problem of diversity on today's campuses has lead to the creation of problems.
Jossey-Bass. Tanabe, C. (2009). From the courtroom to the voting booth: Defending affirmative action in higher education. Philosophy of Education Yearbook, 291–300.
...creasingly diverse labor force. The only downside of affirmative action is specifically focusing on the minority employees. They may be viewed as solely being hired as a result of affirmative action, rather than as equally as accomplished, qualified, and productive. This is demeaning to minorities because it sends them the message that they are not capable enough to be considered on their own merits. However, without the application of equal opportunity programs, minorities and women are more probable to have less access to opportunities, and will affect their goal to become successful in general because they think it will not pay off. With the use of affirmative action, it is imperative to find the appropriate method to level the playing field in order reduce the occurrence of minorities not being viewed as equally qualified when being employed at any company.
Affirmative action policies were created to help level the playing field in American society. Supporters claim that these plans eliminate economic and social disparities to minorities, yet in doing so, they’ve only created more inequalities. Whites and Asians in poverty receive little to none of the opportunities provided to minorities of the same economic background (Messerli). The burden of equity has been placed upon those who were not fortunate enough to meet a certain school’s idea of “diversity” (Andre, Velasquez, and Mazur). The sole reason for a college’s selectivity is to determine whether or not a student has the credentials to attend that school....
...hat happens when we level the playing field? “No school that has scrapped its affirmative action program has seen minority enrollment return fully to affirmative action levels” (Kranz 26). The ultimate goal is to see minorities represent their population in education and in the work force, and at this point, to attain that goal, it is more ethical to retain the policy of affirmative action than to eliminate it. In the words of Peter Singer, “In the absence of more promising alternatives it seems worth a try” (51).
The future of our country is unlimited. As a country we must make sure to prepare not only the race, gender and class of those individuals who have traditionally been leaders, but every member of our great nation. Affirmative action is very important in assuring that everyone has a chance to make a difference, not only for themselves, but for society as a whole.