By Jessie Schirrick Posted October 15, 2014
Affirmative action, otherwise known as “positive discrimination”, is most generally defined as giving members of minorities preference in selection processes for employment, enrollment in schools, scholarship opportunities, etc. Affirmative action is “one of the most effective tools for redressing the injustices caused by our nation’s historic discrimination against people of color and women, and for leveling what has long been an uneven playing field” according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Affirmative action is most often taken by establishing diversity quotas, therefore broadening opportunities for minority groups and consequently narrowing opportunities for Caucasians.
Affirmative action has most recently made headlines for the Supreme Court case in which the ruling upheld a Michigan law banning “preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin” when making admission decisions at publicly funded universities of the state. This ban also bars preferential treatment when making employment or contract decisions. The decision was made 6-2 and one of the justices who opposed the decision spoke out about why she strongly disagreed with the ruling.
“For members of historically marginalized groups, which rely on the federal courts to protect their constitutional rights, the decision can hardly bolster hope for a vision of democracy that preserves for all the right to participate meaningfully and equally in self-government,” wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Others who support affirmative action argue that it is the only way to do right for minorities who have been oppressed for years and even still experience prejudice now and that opportunities for minorities have and will decrease significantly with the elimination of affirmative action. According to the New York Times minority enrollment at universities in California, Texas, Michigan, and Washington has decreased since the respective states approved a ban on affirmative action and the numbers have not recovered.
This is stark evidence that affirmative action benefits minority groups, but that doesn’t mean they should become accustomed to relying on it. For example: if a Caucasian and a Hispanic are both applying for admission to the same school and the Hispanic knows that he will not be held to as high of a standard, where is his motivation to excel beyond a mediocre performance? How can a society flourish if it’s built on people who depend on government handouts to help them get by? It’s certainly not fair to the Caucasian who has worked harder and received better grades just to be snubbed because he’s not of an exotic race. The value of a student should be measured solely on their academic ability. This country simply cannot afford to sacrifice its most promising minds just to meet a quota.
Further, while Justice Sotomayor argues that the elimination of affirmative action leaves little hope for an equal vision of democracy in this country, how does giving preferential treatment to certain minorities promote equality? This is a blatant injustice to Caucasians everywhere. While I agree that certain races have suffered greatly under the hand of discrimination, if there is any hope to grow as a society we must stop pointing fingers and trying to compensate unfairly for a history we cannot change. All it does is feed the vicious cycle; if there is any hope to truly eradicate racial discrimination, all races must receive the exact same treatment.
