The University of Michigan Should NOT Use Affirmative Action
Imagine, your walking down the street looking for a job. You see a sign in the window that says, “Whites encouraged to apply.” Imagine the period in time when just being white got you into a college, without any other considerations of grades or athletic ability. Those were the days of the Jim Crow laws. Now these instances have happened in the past 20 years, through new laws called Affirmative Action. The big argument is over these few years of affirmative action. Have they alleviated the pain of the Jim Crow laws? The answer to that question is no. Especially, in the case of the University of Michigan‘s use of Affirmative Action in the acceptance of students. Using race as a factor of admission is wrong and is reverse discrimination.
Jennifer Gratz, Patrick Hamacher, and Barber Grutter have filed lawsuits against the University of Michigan for being denied admission based on their race. Hamacher had a “GPA of slightly under 3.4 and an ACT score of 28” (Kosseff). Gratz, who attended Southgate High School, had a GPA of 3.765 and ACT score of 25, said she hopes to change an admissions system that she believes is flawed” (Kosseff). Grutter, who tried to gain admission to the University of Michigan law school, maintained a straight-A average through college. She did this all in spite having two children and working nights to support them. All of them witnessed students with much lower credentials get accepted because they were minorities.
“The university is unapologetic about its use of race in admissions. According to Michigan's president, Lee Bollinger, it's the right thing to do” (Bradley). Lee Bolinger says :
The basic idea is that students learn better when they're in an environment in which not everyone is just like them. And we take into account a host of factors. Race and ethnicity are two, but there are many others. The question of bigness or smallness of the--of the factor is not the way to look at it. The--the question is: How much do you value diversity as an educational tool for your students? (Bradley)
This maybe a noble idea, but the system to get to this idea of diversity is evil and wrong.
Carl Cohen is the professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan and has been since 1955. He is old enough to remember the discriminatory practices at certain schools set ...
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... person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (Lowery). The university is going against this amendment all the way in their admission policies. Admitting a student who is less qualified just because they are a minority is wrong. The University of Michigan is racist and should accept the students with the best grades and ACT scores no matter what race they are.
Works Cited
Bradley, Ed. Interview. Professor Cohen . CBS. 60 Minutes. 29 Oct. 2000.
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Chavez, Linda. “Is Racial Preference Unfair?” 19 June 2000. The Affiramtive Action
And Diversity Project . 14 Dec. 2000. 16 Feb. 2002.
Kosseff, Jeffrey. “Firm files lawsuit challenging University’s admission policies.”
The Michigan Daily. 14 Oct 1997. 16 Feb. 2002
Daily/1997/oct/10-14-97/news/extra.html>.
Lowry, Richard. “Quota U – Ann Arbor shows its colors.” National Review 19 March
2001. Find Articles.com. Gale Group. 16 Feb. 2002
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“Most reported effects of videogames – particularly in the popular press – appear to centre upon the alleged negative consequences… Research has consistently shown that playing computer games (irrespective of genre) produces reductions in reaction times, improved hand-eye co-ordination and raises players’ self-esteem,” (Griffiths p. 47), states Mark Griffiths in his article, “The educational benefits of videogames”. When people think of video games, they often tend to think about the negative side effects that video games can have on a person. Will Wright in his article, “Dream Machines” also defends video games by providing positive effects that video games have on those who play them. Wright presents
Jay Gatsby is not a real person. Instead, he is a persona created by James Gatz, with the simple dream of recreating himself and becoming successful. Eventually, he becomes extremely wealthy, and although he has reached his goal, Gatsby remains focused on one person: Daisy Buchanan. Some critics argue that Jay Gatsby 's devotion to Daisy Buchanan in Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby is obsessive and dysfunctional; I believe that some of his actions, although ultimately tragic, prove Gatsby to simply be a man blinded by love.
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.
Recently the merits of a race based admission policy to colleges and universities have come under scrutiny by the American public. Take into account the position of black conservatives, who feel that affirmative action merely perpetuates a system of preference in reverse and does nothing to fix the problems African Americans face in lower educational programs. When looking at the arguments of the Black conservatives and comparing them to the view points of the opposition, a certain conclusion may be reached.
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.
Selingo, Jeffrey. "New Study Questions Educational Benefits of Diversity." The Chronicle of Higher Education 49.29 (2003). Academic OneFile. Web. 9 Aug. 2011.
In 1995, Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher were two Caucasian students who applied for admission into the University of Michigan’s school of Literature, Science and the Arts with in-state tuition. They were told that they were denied admission because they were not competitive enough applicants to be admitted on the first review. Two years later, Gratz and Hamacher decide to file a class action lawsuit against the University, the school they were applying for, Lee Bollinger, and James Duderstadt, arguing that the admission procedure discriminated against certain racial and ethnic groups which violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Minority groups are given different criteria to meet when applying to college. This is an attempt to compensate for the hardships many minority groups had to face in history. As examined by Hoover Institution’s Thomas Sowell this advantage benefits minority applicants from middle and upper class backgrounds. As a result of admissions using a zero sum game, which is where one person’s gain is another person’s loss, these preferences hurt some applicants who meet admission standards in unequal numbers (Sacks and Thiel). If this predilection were genuinely meant to redress disadvantages, it would not be given on the basis of ethnicity. Supporters of affirmative action claim that affirmative action advocates diversity. But if diversity were the goal, then
Racial preference has indisputably favored Caucasian males in society. Recently this dynamic has been debated in all aspects of life, including college admission. Racial bias has intruded on the students’ rights to being treated fairly. Admitting students on merit puts the best individuals into the professional environment. A university’s unprejudiced attitude towards race in applicants eliminates biases, empowers universities to harness the full potential of students’ intellect, and gives students an equal chance at admission.
Known as one of the biggest obstacles in higher education to date would arguably be the use of affirmative action within the higher education admission process for both private and public institutions (Kaplin & Lee, 2014; Wang & Shulruf, 2012). The focus of current research is an attempt to either justify or deny the use of affirmative action within current practices through various higher education institutions, and though any one person could potentially be swayed to side with the rationale to maintain its use or disregard, the facts are quite clear that the future of this practice is unclear. Therefore, this essay will present current research in an attempt to determine if affirmative action should continue to be used within college admission decisions.
Very vital issues are discussed under this video especially when arguing affirmative action. The case and the merits discussed dealt with Cheryl Hopwood, who was denied admission to a Texas law school, which held that the “Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment does not allow race to be used as a factor in law school admission.” Although the United State Supreme Court denied certiorari, she had the potential to impact the future of affirmative action programs significantly and should capture the attention of law school admissions committees across the nation. Furthermore, the goals of the law school’s affirmative action admissions program included achieving diversity and overcoming early effects of discrimination. This
In 1997 Barbara Grutter, a white female Michigan resident with a 3.8 GPA and a 161 LSAT score, applied to go to the University of Michigan Law School, one of the nation’s top law schools. The school follows an official admissions policy that strives to achieve a diverse student body in accordance to the president set by Regents of Univ. of Cal. v. Bakke. She was denied acceptance into the school. When the school was asked why, they openly admitted that it uses race as a factor in making admissions decisions because it serves a "compelling interest in achieving diversity among its student body." A year, later Jennifer Gratz applied for admission to the University of Michigan’ College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) as a resident of the state of Michigan. Although the LSA considered Gratz to be well qualified and within the qualification range, she was denied early admission and eventually denied admission as a student. Once
University of Michigan website- An article on their victory in the case involving race as a factor in admission to their Law School.
Nowadays, video games are frequently accused of having detrimental effects on children and adolescents. The main arguments against video games are that they lead to addiction, that they provoke violence, and that they impair social development. Whether or not such claims are true has not been determined with certainty as scientific studies have produced contradictory results. Nevertheless, video games also have beneficial effects, which tend to be underrated, as they do not receive the same level of media coverage that adverse ones do, and are thus unknown to the general public. Some of the positive effects of playing video games on mental development include: stimulating analytical thinking, improving concentration, and encouraging planning and anticipation (“Video game controversies”).
I followed this principle during my tenure at the University of Fort Hare. I was a member of the Student Representative Council at the university, and the members of the council were dissatisfied with the lack of power given to the SRC. In response, many members, including myself, resigned from our positions because we felt we were not being respected. I was then expelled from the university until I decided to rejoin the SRC. Naturally, I returned to my home instead of school as there was no change in the opposing side’s stance. As a member of the Africa National Congress (ANC), I was a leading force during the anti-apartheid movement. South African blacks were attempting to gain respect from the white people and the ANC represented blacks in the fight to end apartheid. For twenty years I led a series of nonviolent acts of civil disobedience to combat the racist South African government, leading landmark events such as the 1952 Defiance Campaign as well as the 1955 Congress of the People (History.com). I also launched a campaign against the Pass Laws which required nonwhites to carry documents in “restricted” white areas, the ultimate form of disrespect (Britannica). I attempted to defend the rights of unrepresented blacks by starting a law firm with Oliver Tambo. Through all of these efforts I found that until black South Africans were