affirmative action | Teen Ink

affirmative action

January 11, 2010
By JacobFarris SILVER, Houston, Texas
JacobFarris SILVER, Houston, Texas
5 articles 2 photos 0 comments

Getting a Head Start is Never Fair
Twenty points, ten points, eight points, or one point? Those are certain points that stand between someone getting into a college of their top choice. Would you accept getting declined because you don’t fit a criterion of who you are and how you were born, just because affirmative action says so? You wouldn’t want that right, for yourself or for other people so why do we have affirmative action? Affirmative action gives certain points to people in certain categories for college admissions; one of the major categories that cause issues is race. People get accepted over certain people by just a few points and that happens because certain colleges are trying to have diversity and create fairness. But I believe that there should be a fair ground, not points, not a thing, but only for what they do in life. Because when they try to make so called, “ fairness,” it turns into discrimination and racism.
I am an African- American myself, but I don’t want people to think that when I get in college that I was accepted because of some meaningless point scale. I want them to see that I worked to get in the college of my dreams, that I actually tried and I was independent. Affirmative action just discriminate races and gives off ideas that corrupt our nation even more. I think colleges should base off of giving points by what the student does in life, seeing if they actually try to strive. They don’t need to judge by the color of their skin (racism) trying to get diversity. If they really wanted diversity they would accept people of minorities that actually try hard, and not accept people by the points they are obligated to give. What about the other majority races, it is unfair to them to get declined over someone that got lower SAT and ACT scores then them, but with extra points they past the majority race. And when that minority is accepted I bet the thought, “ why was I accepted, was it just because of my race?” The minorities now wonder with why are they there at that college and if others think the same. They try to make things fair by giving minorities a head start but leave the entire majority without paddles saying they can get into college without help. When sometimes some of the majority races can be just as helpless as the minorities, and need help, so is that really fairness? I really can’t stress more than ever that when you give an advantage to certain people and not the other then the ideas of discrimination comes in peoples mind. Don’t get me wrong I believe that people who need the advantage should get it, but I don’t believe in giving points to people by the ideas of what their race needs and how their race is perceived.
Yes some of the minorities come from places where they don’t even have a chance to go to college, and yes they need those points; but they go about the wrong way giving the points to them. If a person wants to go to college they will show it by their actions, and ultimately the colleges will see that in the student and give them the points to make it in their college. Of course if you’re coming from a school that is just awful and has no care for their students then of course you have connections, but connections shouldn’t judge on their bias opinions of the acceptors. Yes coming from a school that is high and prestigious will obviously get more recognized than the person that goes to a school with everything tearing apart. It makes me sad when I hear about children that go to horrible schools like in Est. Louis but I the ones that want to go to college try then they will show it in their actions. The colleges should see whether or not the person wants it by their actions. Sometimes I think that the colleges are the one that casted the racial classes by giving points to who they think needed them, but they couldn’t be because they are trying to be, “fair.”
I think it is wrong to perceive ideas about groups of people and so do others, but some just don’t know that affirmative action does that. What if some one started a race twenty- five meters ahead of you and they happened to be a different race, what would you say? You would have the idea of discrimination and racism in your mind and want to fight for yourself. And in the time it comes to apply for college that is the same race, some go with a head start and others behind. Some think that getting a head start in a race is unfair but they know nothing until they hear about affirmative action. I think that no points should be given only for the actions they do in life, because most of all actions speak louder then words.


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