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Affirmative Action: Discrimination In The United States

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Affirmative Action: Discrimination In The United States
The Meriam-Webster dictionary defines affirmative action as “The practice of improving the educational and job opportunities of…groups that have not been treated unfairly in the past.” Over the years, policies such as affirmative action have slowly helped to improve the lives of minorities living in America, yet discrimination still plagues our nation. While it is not a perfect policy, affirmative action is necessary because it grants a competitive advantage to those who otherwise might be discriminated against, thus helping America establish itself as truly post-racial.
Throughout most of its history, the United States has participated in discrimination. Discrimination against Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, Women, etc. The first and …show more content…
As has already been evidenced, minorities are usually disadvantaged. PayPal cofounders and former Stanford University students David Sacks and Peter Thiel state "The sole criterion in finding the members of [a Stanford] class and in defining 'merit' should be the individual achievement...but race and ethnicity...do not have a place on this list; these are traits, not achievements" ("The Case..."). What Mr. Sacks and Thiel failed to consider is that a student's background may in fact impact their merit. The average student of color will live in a neighborhood with a 17% poverty rate, twice that of whites. Those in poor neighborhoods go to poor schools with less funding per student and that pay their teachers less than suburban schools. Surely a Mexican kid with a 3.5 GPA in high school who grew up in a poor neighborhood and had to work a job through high school is more deserving of a scholarship than a white kid with a 3.8 GPA who grew up privileged and had a tutor through high school. A common argument (or maybe just an excuse) against using race as a factor in college admissions is that these policies put students of color in educational environments where they are over their heads and bound to fail. However, studies have shown that minority and low-income students who attended top-tier colleges do better later in life than equally smart students who did not ("Both Racial..."). Harvard …show more content…
“Both Racial and Class Diversity Benefit College Campuses.” Slate, edited by Dedria Bryfonski, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com.catalog.stisd.net:2048/apps/doc/EJ3010919206/OVIC?u=j031916004&xid=f29c27e1. Accessed Sept. 2017.
Hernandez, Tanya Kateri. “Affirmative Action: A Major Requirement.” U.S. Catholic, 2015, pp. 28–29. SIRS Issues Researcher, sks.sirs.com. Accessed 9 May 2017.
Jinadasa, Sasanka. “The Minorities Admitted to Elite Institutions Have High Academic Qualifications.” Perspective Magazine, edited by Dedria Bryfonski, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com.catalog.stisd.net:2048/apps/doc/EJ3010919208/OVIC?u=j031916004&xid=479769eb. Accessed Nov. 2017.
Kaufman, Ben, and Wyatt Smitherman. “Affirmative Action: Should Race Be a Factor in University Admissions?” University Wire, 2015. SIRS Issues Researcher, sks.sirs.com. Accessed 9 May 2017.
Pages, The Society. “Where Affirmative Action Stands Today - The Color Line.” The Color Line Where Affirmative Action Stands Today Comments, thesocietypages.org/colorline/2009/05/04/where-affirmative-action-stands-today/. Accessed 11 May
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