In particular, when it comes to affirmative action, there are two main trains of thought. Firstly, many people believe that since certain minority groups were oppressed for an extended period of time in our nation's history, then it is only right to have an aid which increases the availability of higher education to these groups. This thought process of lowering admission standards for certain minority populations has become known as "affirmative action," and it has caused a lot of discourse in politics and civic interactions of late.
On the other hand, a large portion of citizens view affirmative action as "reverse discrimination" against the majority of higher education applicants. Behind the anti-affirmative action group lies a set of opinions that are formed by comparatively higher expectations and lower financial aid. As these two sides of the argument begin to clash, a middle-of-the-road idea begins to form. Ideally, over time, all minorities will have achieved the same level of opportunity experienced by the rest of Americans. At this point in time, will affirmative action no longer need to exist? And if this theory is true, when does that time in the future occur, and how will we be ready for it?
Recently, Politico released an article detailing the fact that the Supreme Court is still upholding the right for schools to utilize affirmative action when selecting future students. However, the most recent vote upholding this idea was only decided by a narrow margin of a 4-3 decision. This close vote not only showcases a movement away from affirmative action practices of the past, but also brings into the public eye the question of how much longer it should exist.
Everyone reacts to the idea of affirmative action differently, and several factors can play a role in influences someone's opinion on the matter. A person's race, own life experiences, and overall political leanings can affect how they feel about increasing the ratio of minority students at universities and colleges. According to The New York Times, affirmative action is believed by many to not be the only solution to a society that is still dealing with the whiplash of segregation laws and slavery in the nation's history. In the article, Lee Bollinger details his own opinion that affirmative action should, however, remain intact in addition to increasing court and societal influence for change. Race relations have changed slowly over time, and Bollinger indicates that removing affirmative action now would be premature.
Regardless of how each individual feels about affirmative action, it is generally agreed upon that race relations have improved over the last several decades, but that they are still not perfect. How far someone believes race relations are from perfect is a factor in concluding when mechanisms like higher education should stop considering race. And finally, at what point does this tool become racist in its own, backwards way?
After you have had time to think about how you feel about this civic issue, try to answer the following questions to yourself. Do you think race relations are improving with the use of affirmative action? What additional steps or tools would you add to someday achieve a world in which higher education would not need to consider race as a factor for the acceptance rate? Will the use of affirmative action ever become unnecessary or even harmful for other portions of the population?
With these thoughts in mind, you have already made the first step in discovering your stance on this civic issue. Over the next several blogs, I plan to investigate the history and changing controversies surrounding race and education; you can follow along and perhaps witness your own opinions mature and change.
Image Credits (in order of appearance):
Image provided by Nottingham Trent University
Image provided by Nottingham Trent University
Image Provided by thekirbster
