Affirmative Action - Essay 9

Affirmative action generally means giving preferential treatment to minorities in admission to universities or employment in government & businesses. The policies were originally developed to correct decades of discrimination and to give disadvantaged minorities a boost. The diversity of our current society as opposed to that of 50 years ago seems to indicate the programs have been a success. But now, many think the policies are no longer needed and that they lead to more problems than they solve.

One notable example is a case argued a few years back in the Supreme Court concerning admissions to the University of Michigan. The school had a policy of rating potential applicants on a point system. Being a minority student earned you more than twice as many points as achieving a perfect SAT score. Three white students sued citing this as raced-based discrimination. School officials said that diversity is desirable and affirmative action is the only way to achieve true diversity. Several other cases involving affirmative action have followed similar arguments.
    Affirmative action leads to reverse discrimination. Affirmative action is designed to end     discrimination and unfair treatment of employees/students     based on color, but it in effect does the opposite. Whites     who work harder and/or are more qualified can be passed over     strictly because they are white. Contrary to many stereotypes,     many minorities fall into the middle or upper class, and many     whites live in poverty. Unfortunately, the way things are     set up now, a poverty-stricken white student who uses discipline     and hard work to become the best he can be can be passed over     by a rich minority student who doesn't put in much effort at     all.
      Affirmative action lowers standards of accountability needed to push students or employees to perform better.     If a minority student can get into Harvard with a 3.2 grade-point     average, why should she push herself to get a 4.0?...