Affirmative Action Essay, Research Paper

If one is to discuss and problem solve a program, he or she must first knowwhat the issue is really about. Affirmative action is defined as the equal opportunitiesgiven to minorities, small groups, and women so they will have the same resources,and allotment to achieve their goals in life. Affirmative action today, is considered to be one of the most controversialdilemmas facing our equal status of individual rights. As we all know affirmativeaction was implement with the idea and hope that America would finally become trulyequal. So far, it has lasted for thirty years and had not solved any of our currentproblems concerning equal rights. It has made things worse. It was created with theintention of using reverse discrimination to solve the problem of discrimination. Inthat minority students are being chosen over the qualifications of others. This creates amainstream of problems; some find affirmative action unfair, while others find ithelpful. A portion of students benefit from the program, while others may not. Everyone has there reasons why they support affirmative action. The opportunity tosucceed is given the rest up to themselves. If they want a chance in life to succeedaffirmative action is the helping stone that makes all equal as it should be. This is theland of opportunity, affirmative action gives the person the shot and what they do withit is up to them. However, in today s society women and minorities have an tremendousincrease in the application of jobs. Affirmative action has made a difference where asthirty years ago job opportunities were mostly given to white males. Affirmativeaction has also influenced collegiate admission. Many believe had it not been foraffirmative action they would have never received the rights which this countrypromotes. This thinking of fairness and unfairness ties into the seeking of highereducation where many students are pushed away because of their gender or skin color. Minorities who have never had a chance in being accepted into colleges, are nowbeing accepted. There are changes that need to be made in some cases, but many others benefitfrom it s perfection s. Therefore, I ask the question: What s wrong with affirmativeaction? Racial quotas are unjust. Affirmative action is a betrayal of the Civil Rightsmovement. The goal of civil rights was to end discrimination. The Declaration ofIndependence established that all men are created equal. Affirmative action assumesnot only minorities are inferior but that are incapable of success, the programundermines the achievements of blacks and other minorities, implying that theirposition were handed to them rather than being earned. Doesn t that phrase make theuse of racial quotas unjust? Are all men being considered for the position equally? Ifa college turns down a well qualified white male applicant in order to accept a lessqualified minority applicant, are racial quotas not unjust? Are all men beingconsidered for the position equally? If race is the first thing that is looked upon whenone applies for a job, a scholarship, or acceptance into a college, are racial quotasunjust? Are all men being considered for everything equally? I think not. Obviously,any program or practice that uses race, instead of qualification, as a deciding factor iswrong, unjust, and immoral. Lamar Alexander once said Discrimination has no placein this land , but nether does quotas, special preference or benefits that you only getbecause you belong to a group. . Minorities are not obtaining college admission because of their character, butbecause of their ethnic background. Black students have been found to score loweron tests than white students. Harmon believes that this is because they do not thinkthey have to work as hard as other students because it was easy for them to get into

schools. Affirmative action college admissions has proven to be one of the most controversial issues of the era. In this area both minorities and non-minorities arediscriminated against, when affirmative action was in use the admissions board wasdivided into two groups one for minorities and another for non-minorities, standardsfor minorities were lowered; again equality fails to be shown. In the University ofCalifornia Berkley the average SAT score for blacks was 947, while whites had anaverage score of 1235(Forbes 14). Grants and scholarship are wasted among theirresponsible and unprepared minorities. Although, in the same university forty-twopercent of blacks dropout, compared to the sixteen percent dropout rate for whites(Mergerson 15). These minorities use the funds and soon drop out; funds that arewasted should go to financially challenged person no matter what the ethnic background is.The main problem for minorities I feel is poor education facilities and resources, urbanschools are below average, and unfortunately generally occupied by minorities. This is where the funds should go to, repairing the urban education facilities and resources;the government should attack the root of the problem, which is inferior teachinginstitutions. Affirmative action should now help any financially challenged individual;race should not be an issue. I would begin restructuring affirmative action with the schools enrollment.Only take the top 30 percent of students who pass the SAT or college entrance exams should be enrolled in prestigious colleges and universities, due to the factor of minoritydrop out rate is nearly fifty percent higher than whites. This way we would not putone s race above others like affirmative action rules. Also, programs such as that atthe University of Maryland, the Academic Achievement Program should be placednation wide. The AAP program offers 120 positions for any student with low income. Which is open to minorities and non-minorities; most importantly it helps financially disadvantaged students (Curry 1). These types of programs should beinterjected into colleges. Should a student from Trinity Presbyterian School who score high on herACT be admitted in to a prestigious school vs. a black male which scored lower onthe ACT but played on the football team of Wetumpka High School. Which studentshould be admitted into a prestigious school. Parents have a responsibility to prepare their children on reliance on themselvesan their merit because universities seek to educate those likely to become leaders,which enforces merit rather than race. Race does not make one a good leader nor is ita factor of creating a good leader, but rather merit and self-reliance are. Success andacceptance is all based in the personal responsibility one puts forth, not quotas. Inconclusion, minorities do not need special treatment; Minorities need equaltreatment. Affirmative action assumes and implies that minorities are inferior towhites , that minorities need to be treated special just to have a chance. According toVan Den Hagg, Ernest, through the years perseverance has resulted in a decrease ofilliteracy from eighty percent to forty-five percent, black newspapers increased from 2to 154, blacks attorneys increased from 2 to 250, black physicians increased from 3 to749. All of these accomplishments were achieved under the Jim Crow laws, practicesor institutions that resulted from segregation of blacks from whites, which demonstratethe power and potential of perseverance. The people from this exemplary generationhave proven that even with limitations and no special treatment minorities can achieveanything. People once came to America to be free to work hard to become qualifiedfor a job. Will people now come because their skin color will help them receive a job? Martin Luther King said that he would like to see the day when his children are notjudged because of their color, but because of the content of their character.