Affirmative Action Offers Minorities Education example essay topic

Affirmative action was developed in the mid 1960's to offer equal opportunity employment and education to women and minorities. These policies required that active measures be taken so that minorities had the same opportunities in career advancements and education that were nearly exclusive to whites (Brunner 1). In 2002, affirmative action is still present in our society. Minorities as well as females are given jobs and admissions into colleges and universities that are not totally based on hard they have worked, but rather on their race and gender.

Because affirmative action is an unjust law that offers minorities education or employment based on race or gender and not merit, this promotional practice is a form of reverse discrimination that should be abolished. Focusing on jobs and education in particular, affirmative action policies required the active measures be taken to ensure that females, blacks, and other minorities enjoyed the same opportunities that had been available only to whites males. This practice slowly turned into a blatant form of reverse discrimination. Institutions are so anxious to raise the number of blacks in their ranks that they overlook over qualified applicants when admission decisions involving blacks. In the 1995 court case Gratz vs. Bollinger, reported on Adversity. net, Jennifer Gratz applied to University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Gratz's application was rejected because she was white.

Minority students with lower test scores were admitted ahead of Gratz to meet the University's racial enrollment goals (adversity. net / education 2 mich u 1. html). In this situation, Jennifer Gratz is more qualified than the minorities in question that are granted admission. The minorities admitted to the university are clearly selected based on their race and not their educational merit. Minorities are receiving the spoils for a job they did not do, rather than what they did do. Affirmative action has also led to other inconveniences in the work place and on college campuses.

As stated in the article "Race and Rage" by Howard Fineman in the April 5, 1995 issue of Newsweek, 25- year old widow Janice Camarena, a commuting student at San Bernardino Valley College, wanted to attend English 101 at an appropriate hour. For the single mother of three, the only convenient hour was 11 a.m. The only problem was she is white and the 11 a.m. section of classes was designated for African- Americans. Bearing a neutral label, the class was actually part of a "Black Bridge" remedial program of writing instruction that Camarena could not sign up for (Fineman 23). This unfair action barred an entire race from a class based on the color of their skin. Several actions nationwide are being taken to put an end to affirmative action.

In Florida, the state university system's Board of Regents voted 12-0 to replace racial and gender preferences with a plan to grant university admission to the top 20 percent of high school seniors. The new plan also decreases reliance on SAT scores. This will increase the admission chances of disadvantaged students. On average, blacks do not score as well on the SATs as Whites or Asian Americans.

Under Florida's former admission policies, universities could use race as a factor in deciding student admissions (Sharp 1 A). Other states, such as Washington and California, have also taken the advancements necessary to fight against reverse discrimination. In California, voters in an Election Day referendum approved Proposition 209. Proposition 209 sought to eliminate race, sex, or ethnicity preferences in state hiring practices, unconstitutional (Sharp 1 A). Fifty-five percent of California voters backed the proposal during November elections (Compton's Encyclopedia). Proposition 209 applies to cities, counties, public schools and colleges.

As reported by Deborah Sharp, in USA Today, 26 states voted on measures intended to repeal or roll back affirmative action programs. In conclusion, affirmative action was developed over 30 years to promote the civil rights of other and a color-blind society whereas race is not a factor in job placement or education. Our society has come a long way since the 1960's and affirmative action is no longer a process that is needed. It has only become an unjust law to society. Affirmative action offers minorities education or employment based on race or gender and not merit, this promotional practice is a blatant form of reverse discrimination that has caused an inconvenience in today's society and should be abolished.

Bibliography

1". Affirmative Action" Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia CD-ROM. Microsoft, 1999.
2. Brunner, Borgia, "Bakke and Beyond: A History and Timeline of Affirmative Action" Wysiwyg: //Answers Frame. 24/ web 3. Fineman, Howard, "Race and Rage (Affirmative Action: Republicans Hope It Will Drive a Wedge Between Liberal Democrats and White Swing Voters) " Newsweek 3 April 1995: 22-25 Infotrac Paul M.
Dorman High School Lib., Spartanburg, SC 17 Feb. 4. web 5. Sharp, Deborah, "Florida Moves to End Affirmative Action" USA Today 18 February 2000: 1 A Infotrac Paul M.