Affirmative action is complex, confusing, and surrounded by controversy, but J.C. Watts, a politician from Oklahoma, puts it in terms any American can understand, “[it] is a little like the professional football draft. The NFL awards its [number one] draft choices to the lowest-ranked team in the league. It doesn't do this out of compassion or guilt. It's done for mutual survival. They understand that a league can only be as strong as its weakest team.” The policy of affirmative action allows for disadvantaged students of minority races access to a higher education because the United States understands that everyone in this nation has the right to an equal education. If a student is willing to put in the time and effort to work hard, he should be allotted with the opportunity to attend a university, the same university, as a white student who put in the same amount of effort. Unfortunately, without affirmative action, this would not be the case. This policy is not giving students belonging to minority races an unfair advantage, rather providing them with the same opportunity the white students had all along-- through their prior education and advantages on standardized tests. Although many argue that affirmative action provides an advantage to minority races, in reality affirmative action is a just policy that contributes to more diverse public university campuses as well as equalizes opportunities for races in regard to educational opportunities.  This policy is imperative to the advancement of equality in the United States and without it minority race students would not have the same opportunity for higher education that white students do.

The history surrounding the topic of race-based admissions is extensive and in order to comprehend the current situation, the past must also be understood. In the early 1900’s races, specifically black and white, were completely separated in the social realm, including being schooled separately. It was not until 1954, during the case of Brown v. Board of Education, that the Supreme Court ruled the ‘separate but equal’ clause violated the constitution. This meant that it was no longer legal to segregate people based on race, even if the facilities provided were ‘equal.’ 

During John F. Kennedy’s time as president, he introduced the idea of affirmative action when choosing individuals to work on federally funded projects, and while this attempt was for the most part unsuccessful, he planted a seed that would eventually turn into something much bigger. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed. The Act rendered discrimination based on race illegal in workplaces and educational facilities. While this Act was also initially poorly enforced, the Fourteenth Amendment eventually protected and solidified these rights. Years later, in 1978, a monumental Supreme Court case, California v. Bakke, stated that, “colleges cannot use racial quotas because it violates the Equal Protection Clause,” in the Fourteenth Amendment; however, affirmative action does not require racial quotas rather, it encourages the admission of minority races (CNN). 

While the Supreme Court has upheld its determination that race may be taken into consideration in determining whether to offer admission to an applicant, several individual states have outlawed this practice at all public universities that reside within them. California, the first state to outlaw affirmative action issued a proposition that essentially denied public colleges and universities within the state, the right to “discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting” (Desilver). California was the first state to outlaw this practice, but nine other states have attempted to follow suit, eight successfully passing propositions with similar wording and Colorado failing to get their proposition passed. The topic of affirmative action is often challenged by the public and is certainly being further challenged by the current administration with the Justice Department under President Trump threatening to dispute the legality of the practice. Despite these recent questionings, in 2016 “the US Supreme Court (upheld) the Affirmative Action program by a vote of four to three with Justice Elena Kagan taking no part in the consideration” (Liptak). The ruling of this recent case means that the current administration will have to fight a long history of the courts upholding the policy of Affirmative Action if they decide to continue with their challenge of racially fueled admissions. 

In like manner, affirmative action has a history of being challenged by white students who believe the practice inhibits the students chance at acceptance. In the specific case of Grutter v. Bollinger, Barabra Grutter was denied admission to the Law School at the University of Michigan, a school that willingly admits they consider race in the admissions process. When this case was brought before the Supreme Court, the Justices ruled in favor of the law school. In the last 30 years, four other cases similar to Grutter’s were brought before the Supreme Court, but each time the justices remained on the side of affirmative action. However, what the students who bring their cases to court do not understand is that affirmative action simply levels an uneven playing field. Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina Associate Justice for the Supreme Court confirms this gap with, “[her] test scores [that] were not comparable to her classmates. And that’s been shown by statistics, there are reasons for that. There are cultural biases built into testing…” (Savage). All affirmative action does is provide a necessary aid, due to the inconsistencies of standardized testing as well as the disadvantaged backgrounds many minorities originate in, and allow minority students to compete with white students in the admissions process. While it is true that a student from a minority race must be able to compete with their white counterparts once admitted to the university, the practice of affirmative action provides that particular student with a chance to try. 

One of the most prevalent and widely discussed issues in society today is diversity and inclusion, which is the obvious pro to utilizing affirmative action in public university admissions. The process of admitting students from minority racial groups creates more diverse campuses around the nation, and in turn, opens students’ eyes to the diverse world around them. According to a recent report by Amy Stuart Wells, Lauren Fox, and Diana Cordova-Cobo of Teachers College of Columbia University, “researchers have documented that students’ exposure to other students who are different from themselves and the novel ideas and challenges that such exposure brings leads to improved cognitive skills, including critical thinking and problem solving.” Diversity fosters conversation and contributes to an individual’s ability to work with others who may be different from them, which are both qualities that lead to more well-rounded students who are more successful in the long run. While it is true that diversity contributes to a student’s ability to perform in the future, studies have also shown that, “students work better in a diverse environment, enabling them to concentrate and push themselves further when there are people of other backgrounds working alongside them. This promotes creativity, as well as better education, as those with differing viewpoints are able to collaborate to create solutions.” (Henson and Eller, cited in Queens University of Charlotte). Therefore, a student who surrounds himself with those who are different from him, will actually be more productive in the present moment. The ability for a student to collaborate with individuals and foster meaningful conversation with other students who vary from them in race, culture, and ethnicity, allows the student to see a problem from multiple angles, in turn fostering creativity resulting in a variety solutions forming. Affirmative action contributes to this much-needed diversity on campuses by allowing disadvantaged, minority students an equal chance at acceptance as any white student. This means that because of affirmative action, students, both of minority races as well as white, will not only be more prepared for their future through the knowledge of individuals who vary from them, but they actually will actually accomplish and gain more from their work while attending the university.  

These skills that are developed through students’ exposure to diverse groups of people are imperative to being successful in today’s everyday society. In fact, “Ninety-six percent of major employers say it is “important” that employees be ‘comfortable working with colleagues, customers, and/or clients from diverse cultural backgrounds’” (Wells, Fox, and Cordova-Cobo). This means that many employers, also known as the people who hire college students after they graduate, will be more apt to hire a student who is comfortable with being exposed to diversity, due to their willingness to gain insight from others with varying opinions. Students achieve this sense of comfort through being around people who are different from them which is something that the policy of affirmative action accomplishes. When campuses foster an environment that is welcoming to all students, exposure to more racial minorities increases, making the campus more diverse, and in turn preparing the students to enter the real world and the workforce. 

Not only does affirmative action aid in creating a more diverse, tolerant environment that prepares students for the road ahead, but the policy also allows students who would not otherwise have the opportunity for advancement within their area to attend a university. Many students throughout the country deal with circumstances beyond their control, which ends up hindering their ability to focus solely on academics. Unfortunately, a disproportionate number of these underprivileged students belong to a racial minority. “At present, African Americans and Hispanic Americans make up 22 percent of the general population, [and] 19 percent of undergraduate enrollment…” (US Department of Education). The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold affirmative action in universities’ admissions processes is a key factor to this number being where it is right now and in order for people of minority races to continue to receive high education at the rate they are now, the policy must continue to be fought for. In fact, since 1976 “Hispanic enrollment rose from 353,000 in 1976 to 2,103,000 in 2008 while Black enrollment rose from 943,000 to 2,269,000,” and this number has seen a steady increase since the Supreme Court’s decision in California v. Bakke in 1978 (National Center for Education Statistics).  While this number may also be attributable to other causes, without affirmative action, many students of minority races would not have even have the opportunity to gain a higher education, especially at this increasing rate. Although the increase in these numbers is a step in the right direction, “of the nearly 20 million students enrolled in postsecondary institutions in the fall of 2015, 55 percent were white, while 14 percent were black and 17 percent were Hispanic” (Webster). So, essentially what this data discovers is that there is still more that needs to be done. The nation cannot turn its cheek to minority races who still need affirmative action to be considered on the same level as white students. 

Additionally, affirmative action provides an opportunity for minority races to be given the same treatment as white students, a possibility that was only dreamt about prior to the passing of this policy. Before it was put into action, white students were given preferential treatment, dating back from before the beginnings of slavery. So, to counteract this preferential treatment given to white students, the affirmative action policy was put in place. While it so evidently is, retired Supreme Court Justice, Harry A. Blackman, “wonders whether the majority still believes that race discrimination -- or, more accurately, race discrimination against non-whites -- is a problem in our society, or even remembers that it ever was” (Blackmun, cited Higginbotham). Students of all races are looked at and judged based on the color of their skin, which is a process that was once beneficial to white students, but now, with the policy of affirmative action accounting for the inconsistencies in the admissions process between members of different races, all students can be viewed based on their credentials. Affirmative action ensures that all races are viewed the same in the admissions process, while without it, white students would be seen as superior with other races being much less than. 

While affirmative action does have its faults, ultimately the positive effects outweigh the negative effects. However, a particular solution to the argument of ‘discrimination based on race for admissions is unfair,’ has been proposed. If public universities throughout the country move to a class-based aid for admissions process, the sensitivities regarding race could be completely eliminated. In her novel, Sigal Alon, an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tel-Aviv University, discusses Israel’s system of class-based admissions in comparison to the race-based admissions of the United States. This is a logical and well researched argument to a more inclusive alternative to the current practices of the United States. As J.C. Watts states, “[he is] not one that believes that affirmative action should be based on one's skin color or one's gender, [he] think[s] it should be done based on one's need… [he] think[s] that poor white kid needs a scholarship just as badly as a poor black kid.” While this statement is true, a solution to the discrepancies in the affirmative action policy are rarely discussed among the people in this nation that have the power to act upon it, so in order to advocate for underprivileged students, the policy must remain in place. 

Affirmative action is the one of the most rewarding things this nation has done in attempt to lessen the racial gaps in the education system. Students from minority racial groups have been underrepresented in public universities throughout the nation since the founding of this country, due to the preferential treatment of white students. Although these white students may not know that for decades they have been viewed as superior to students of minorities, the fact is, they have. So, to allow for African Americans, Hispanics, and so many other underrepresented races to finally have an equal chance in the admissions process at universities, affirmative action must remain a part of the process. Affirmative action places every race on the same level. No race will be seen as better, and no race will be seen as worse. To question the system as it stands right now, take a look back at history and ask: “Why did this system begin?” which will lead to, “And why is it necessary now?”

The answer should go something like this: the unfortunate truth is that no man is blind to race. We all see it. However, no man should see race as a factor that influences their perception of a person. Regrettably, that is not the case, so to counteract this disparaging fact, the policy of affirmative action is in effect. And since then, millions of more students of minority races have attended college, but there will be so many more to attend in the future after benefitting from this policy. So, fight for this policy because, “a league can only be as strong as its weakest team” (Watts).
