Affirmative Action | Teen Ink

Affirmative Action

January 10, 2010
By basktbalfreak247 SILVER, Houston, Texas
basktbalfreak247 SILVER, Houston, Texas
5 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Although many people believe that affirmative action is quite helpful, I would argue its uselessness. It has not solved the problem that it has set out to solve. It has made the playing field unequal for white men because “they are the superior ones,” while women and minorities get the upper hand in being admitted into colleges and being hired for job offers.
By picking other minorities over Caucasians who really deserve to be accepted into a college or picked for a certain job implements reverse racism. Used to, “whites set themselves apart from blacks and claimed privileges for themselves while denying them to others…. [Now] blacks are claiming special privileges and reserving for themselves privileges they deny to others” (Stanley Fish). It is believed that minorities have a harder chance at succeeding in life because of their color, but by bringing in affirmative action to help them succeed, they are making it harder on whites because they are now being denied the rights they deserve.
By only looking at people’s race and gender when reviewing at their application for college or a job they are minimizing the accomplishments that some minorities have made to deserve to get into college. As the admissions review board interviews someone to accept into their college they should not look at the color of their skin or their gender, but solely on what their accomplishments are. What efforts have you made to be the best you can be? Did you try to put forth effort at making good grades? These should be the kinds of questions asked by colleges rather than, what is your race? The diversity of the students should be based on unusual characteristics instead of race (Sacks, Thiel).
By giving minorities the easy way out they are able to sail through high school and then expect to get into any college they want because they can get extra points. This gives them the impression that because they are a minority they can get accepted into any college they choose and get any job they want later in life. Some people might also argue that a lot of minorities receive lower educations than whites. They might blame poor school systems because of government funding, but the bottom line is they can always go to the library and get help or even transfer to a new school; there are always ways to work around the bad situations they are in.
Many people that are for affirmative action believe that the world will be more equal with it, but the world will never be equal. A school with 77 percent black and hispanice people spends $3,081 less per student each year than a leading school with only 20 persent blacks and hispanics (Pryse). This elludes to the belief that they are not equal. There will always be someone better than the other and giving other minorities jobs that white people deserve more does not equal the playing field. By keeping affirmative action, people believe that the future will be more balanced.
Affirmative Action is not just or fair to white people that work hard to succeed in life. It gives minorities the unfair boost that helps them get into college, but just makes it harder for the person who really deserved it. As you can see without a doubt, affirmative action is wrong and undeserved.


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