Affirmative Action
In a 2008 presidential debate, John McCain and Barack Obama discussed the potential impacts of maintaining affirmative action. The eventual president, Barack Obama, argued that there are in fact clear flaws in the policy. He stated explicitly, “I’ve also said that affirmative action is not going to be the long-term solution to the problems of race in America, because, frankly, if you’ve got 50 percent of African-American or Latino kids dropping out of high school, it doesn’t really matter what you do in terms of affirmative action. Those kids aren’t going to college.” In this quote, Obama is stating that increasing the diversity of premier educational institutions cannot be sustained in the long term through Affirmative action. Do you agree? If not, What do you propose we do?
zef322 • May 12, 2019
zef322 May 12, 2019 - 10:37 pm
I agree with Obama’s statement and propose that the United States tailor its Affirmative action policy to ensure that no race has an educational advantage over another. Rather, it should focus its attention on keeping minority students in high school and developing structure that can level the playing field of educational access, regardless of socioeconomic status. My personal experiences are what shaped my stance on Affirmative action. Attending a private high school for four years has taught me that the college admissions process is one of the most anxious times of a students life. Every student is challenged with proving to admission boards that they are smart, unique, and capable of handling the workload of their institution. What I realized is that as a young black male, I was told I had a very “unique advantage.” over my white peers. The slurs: “You’re so lucky you’re black” and “you only got in to that school because you’re black,” ring with piercing familiarity. It was as if everything I had accomplished in school did not matter, or in some cases mattered even more, simply because I was a minority. The dissociation of an individual and their merit can ruin their sense of purpose. I felt as if everything I worked so hard for was discredited simply because I had an “advantage.” After talking with friends and family, I discovered that I was not the only one who felt this way. Society has found a new way to belittle and scrutinize young minority students by using Affirmative action to explain all of their success. It effectively transformed a potentially beneficial initiative into another way to attack minorities.
jam422 May 12, 2019 - 11:19 pm
I agree with Obama’s statements that getting these underprivileged minorities into a position that can get them into college should be a priority. In order to do this more funding must be attributed to impoverished neighborhoods to provide those kids with the resources they need to succeed in life and to end the vicious cycle that has been occurring for numerous years.
Wilberto Sicard May 12, 2019 - 11:37 pm
I disagree with Obama. While Affirmative Action is not the sole solution, neither is any other policy. Single policy answers do not exist. Instead, policy makers must establish a collective policy approach to provide equal access to education. While pursuing policies like increased funding for urban school districts, policy makers must also continue affirmative action. After all, a majority of America’s elite colleges are primarily white and affirmative action presents an effective way to combat this issue. The important part, however, is that multiple policies are implemented that all work toward the common goal of equal education.