Pros And Cons Of Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is the prohibition of discrimination of minority groups. In hope of making America the land of equal opportunity, President John F. Kennedy first introduced the concept of affirmative action in 1961. Affirmative action strictly prohibits discrimination of employees based on “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” (Wilcher). Several presidents endorsed the concept after President Kennedy; thus, the policy was heavily enforced. To extend the policy to private-owned businesses, the Civil Right Acts of 1964 was introduced, making discrimination of employees in work places illegal in both private-owned and government-owned businesses. Following the Civil Rights Acts, many program were enforced to ensure the rights of
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the minorities, not only in work places, but also in schools and other facilities as well. However, despite the good initial intention, affirmative action has taken on a very different approach. The concept of affirmative action is ironic in the sense that it discourages and encourages the making of judgments based solely on skin color at the same time. It is illegal to not hire someone if they are a minority, but it is legal to not hire someone if he or she is not considered a minority. To appeal to the public, many universities and businesses had enforced this policy, making the admission process unfair for those who are not seen as the minority. Affirmative action prohibits America from becoming the land of equal opportunity by creating unfair university admission process, putting people in certain positions at work or school when they are not ready for it, and reinforcing racism and stereotypes. It is hard to pint point whether affirmative action is positive of negative because “it is not a single program but includes distinct initiatives bundled together under the general rubric of affirmative action” (ASHE).
People who support affirmative would argue that it helps create diversity, and that it is a compensation for years of oppression that the minorities had to suffer. In a sense, this is not entirely incorrect. Blacks were denied the right to education for hundreds of years, and were not given opportunities to become successful. They often faced discrimination in schools and workplaces. Affirmative action is helpful in the sense that more blacks are attending universities and that the probability of getting hired by a company has increased tremendously. However, many universities are using affirmative action as a mean to discriminate against other races. Universities often cut down or increase the rate of admission of a certain race if they think that a certain race is overrepresented or underrepresented in their student body. According to The Wall Street Journal, Harvard University is being sued “by 64 Asian-American organizations with the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights.” The Asian-American organizations claimed that the university is limiting on the number of Asian student admitted. Asian students are most likely to be screened at a higher standard than their black, Hispanic, or some white counterparts. For example, Asians are being stereotyped as only being worthy if they have a 2400 SAT score and 4.5 GPA, while their black, Hispanic, or some white counterparts are screened at a lower standard of about 1900 SAT score and 3.9 GPA. If affirmative action was introduced to protect the minorities against discrimination, then it has failed its job. Blacks and Hispanics are not the only two races that faced discrimination in the U.S. history. As a matter of fact, Asians were discriminated against as well. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882,
and the imprisonment of Japanese during the Red Scare are the prime example of discrimination that Asian faced throughout the U.S. history. To ensure equal opportunity for all, university admission must be based upon scores and achievements, not based on race and skin color. No race or skin color should have better advantages over another. It is safe to say that there is definitely racism in the university admission process. Until universities get rid of their unfairness, none can say that America is the land of equal opportunity. Affirmative action does not only negatively affect those who are not considered the minority, but it also negatively affects the minorities as well. Base on the results of psychology experiments, “if people are told that affirmative action has influenced their attainment of a position, they devalue the position or their performance -- more so if they disapprove of affirmative action to begin with or if it was described as playing a central role, and less so if they see the apparent authority as racially biased” (Hochschild). The study also shows that co-workers tend to change their initial judgment if they know that the new employee attained his or her position due to affirmative action. It shows that the person hired might not be the best candidate for the position but attained the position anyway because of his or her skin color. Falling behind in classes is also a major problem for those who were admitted to university through affirmative action programs. He or she might have got accepted because of his or her skin color not because of good academic skills; therefore, he or she might fall behind in classes compare to his or her peers. According to The Atlantic journal, blacks are more likely to enter university and drop out than whites of the same background. This problem is most often referring to as “mismatch.” “The mismatch effect happens when a school extends to a student such a large admissions preference -- sometimes because of a student's athletic prowess or legacy connection to the school, but usually because of the student's race -- that the student finds himself in a class where he has weaker academic preparation than nearly all of his classmates” (The Atlantic). A person is more likely to drop out if he or she cannot catch up to their peers in term of academic skills. Giving advantages to one race and not the other can unintentionally reinforces stereotypes and racism. The reason that special advantages were given to the minority was because they were oppressed and did not have the resource necessary to attend college. The lack of resource can be due to discrimination in work place resulting in not having enough financial means to send children to school. However, society has evolved, and that is no longer the case. Giving advantages to black and Hispanic students can reinforce the idea that blacks are poor and don’t have the resources to attend college. Judging black and Hispanic students with lower score criteria than their Asian or white peers can reinforces the stereotype that they are not smart as their peers. Just because someone is white doesn’t mean he or she is rich, and just because someone is Asian doesn’t mean he or she is smart. All in all, to determine if affirmative action really has more negative than positive affect on equality, the public opinion need to be heard. According to the website isidewithdotcom, that is famous for having political surveys, 48 percent or approximately 4.5 million people vote “no” for affirmative action, while 32 percent or approximately 3 million people vote “yes” for affirmative action. This website, however, does not represent the whole public opinion of the country. A more detailed survey could be found in the book The Ironies of Affirmative written by John David Skrentny. According to Skrentny, a poll taken in 1971 stated, “about 10 percefnt supported preferential treatments for minorities and about 81 to 84 percent supported test-measured ability as the primary factor.” This shows that more often than not, there are more people who don’t support affirmative action. The original concept was introduced to increase equality, but somewhere along the way, the concept has strayed onto another path. It is only right to see people for who they are, not by the color of their skin. If Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech is taught in school, then it should also be enforced in real life. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” (Martin Luther King, Jr).
the minorities, not only in work places, but also in schools and other facilities as well. However, despite the good initial intention, affirmative action has taken on a very different approach. The concept of affirmative action is ironic in the sense that it discourages and encourages the making of judgments based solely on skin color at the same time. It is illegal to not hire someone if they are a minority, but it is legal to not hire someone if he or she is not considered a minority. To appeal to the public, many universities and businesses had enforced this policy, making the admission process unfair for those who are not seen as the minority. Affirmative action prohibits America from becoming the land of equal opportunity by creating unfair university admission process, putting people in certain positions at work or school when they are not ready for it, and reinforcing racism and stereotypes. It is hard to pint point whether affirmative action is positive of negative because “it is not a single program but includes distinct initiatives bundled together under the general rubric of affirmative action” (ASHE).
People who support affirmative would argue that it helps create diversity, and that it is a compensation for years of oppression that the minorities had to suffer. In a sense, this is not entirely incorrect. Blacks were denied the right to education for hundreds of years, and were not given opportunities to become successful. They often faced discrimination in schools and workplaces. Affirmative action is helpful in the sense that more blacks are attending universities and that the probability of getting hired by a company has increased tremendously. However, many universities are using affirmative action as a mean to discriminate against other races. Universities often cut down or increase the rate of admission of a certain race if they think that a certain race is overrepresented or underrepresented in their student body. According to The Wall Street Journal, Harvard University is being sued “by 64 Asian-American organizations with the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights.” The Asian-American organizations claimed that the university is limiting on the number of Asian student admitted. Asian students are most likely to be screened at a higher standard than their black, Hispanic, or some white counterparts. For example, Asians are being stereotyped as only being worthy if they have a 2400 SAT score and 4.5 GPA, while their black, Hispanic, or some white counterparts are screened at a lower standard of about 1900 SAT score and 3.9 GPA. If affirmative action was introduced to protect the minorities against discrimination, then it has failed its job. Blacks and Hispanics are not the only two races that faced discrimination in the U.S. history. As a matter of fact, Asians were discriminated against as well. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882,
and the imprisonment of Japanese during the Red Scare are the prime example of discrimination that Asian faced throughout the U.S. history. To ensure equal opportunity for all, university admission must be based upon scores and achievements, not based on race and skin color. No race or skin color should have better advantages over another. It is safe to say that there is definitely racism in the university admission process. Until universities get rid of their unfairness, none can say that America is the land of equal opportunity. Affirmative action does not only negatively affect those who are not considered the minority, but it also negatively affects the minorities as well. Base on the results of psychology experiments, “if people are told that affirmative action has influenced their attainment of a position, they devalue the position or their performance -- more so if they disapprove of affirmative action to begin with or if it was described as playing a central role, and less so if they see the apparent authority as racially biased” (Hochschild). The study also shows that co-workers tend to change their initial judgment if they know that the new employee attained his or her position due to affirmative action. It shows that the person hired might not be the best candidate for the position but attained the position anyway because of his or her skin color. Falling behind in classes is also a major problem for those who were admitted to university through affirmative action programs. He or she might have got accepted because of his or her skin color not because of good academic skills; therefore, he or she might fall behind in classes compare to his or her peers. According to The Atlantic journal, blacks are more likely to enter university and drop out than whites of the same background. This problem is most often referring to as “mismatch.” “The mismatch effect happens when a school extends to a student such a large admissions preference -- sometimes because of a student's athletic prowess or legacy connection to the school, but usually because of the student's race -- that the student finds himself in a class where he has weaker academic preparation than nearly all of his classmates” (The Atlantic). A person is more likely to drop out if he or she cannot catch up to their peers in term of academic skills. Giving advantages to one race and not the other can unintentionally reinforces stereotypes and racism. The reason that special advantages were given to the minority was because they were oppressed and did not have the resource necessary to attend college. The lack of resource can be due to discrimination in work place resulting in not having enough financial means to send children to school. However, society has evolved, and that is no longer the case. Giving advantages to black and Hispanic students can reinforce the idea that blacks are poor and don’t have the resources to attend college. Judging black and Hispanic students with lower score criteria than their Asian or white peers can reinforces the stereotype that they are not smart as their peers. Just because someone is white doesn’t mean he or she is rich, and just because someone is Asian doesn’t mean he or she is smart. All in all, to determine if affirmative action really has more negative than positive affect on equality, the public opinion need to be heard. According to the website isidewithdotcom, that is famous for having political surveys, 48 percent or approximately 4.5 million people vote “no” for affirmative action, while 32 percent or approximately 3 million people vote “yes” for affirmative action. This website, however, does not represent the whole public opinion of the country. A more detailed survey could be found in the book The Ironies of Affirmative written by John David Skrentny. According to Skrentny, a poll taken in 1971 stated, “about 10 percefnt supported preferential treatments for minorities and about 81 to 84 percent supported test-measured ability as the primary factor.” This shows that more often than not, there are more people who don’t support affirmative action. The original concept was introduced to increase equality, but somewhere along the way, the concept has strayed onto another path. It is only right to see people for who they are, not by the color of their skin. If Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech is taught in school, then it should also be enforced in real life. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” (Martin Luther King, Jr).