Affirmative

Hey guys! First of all, I have to say that I regret not being able to make it to class this past Monday. Although it may have gotten tense in the classroom, it seems like we had an impactful discussion, be it positive or negative. Wish I could have been a part of it!

Moving on, I was glad to receive those articles on affirmative action this week, even if they were a little upsetting. I know it's a super controversial issue, but it's definitely one on which I have an opinion. Personally, I am saddened to hear that Texas might be eliminating the policy. I do not think the practice is discriminatory. Rather, I think it is an effective method of combating self-perpetuating and historically rooted inequalities. There are obviously great inequalities in our education system, mostly drawn across monetary or class lines. I've noticed through my own observations that children of wealthy families have a definite leg up when it comes to college admission. A student from a wealthy family will able to afford new books, tutors, and SAT prep classes. These things do give you an advantage on standardized tests. It has also been demonstrated that children growing up in an academic type environment (a house with books, magazines, educated parents) will likely do better in school. Therefore, a child of less economic advantage but equal intelligence will very likely end up performing worse on a standardized test than their wealthier equal. This does not mean that they don't have equal potential and are equally deserving of academic opportunities. And sure, that isn't explicitly tied to race, but who are most of these aforementioned wealthy families? There is a racial imbalance that accompanies this wealth divide.

I do understand how affirmative action, simply by bringing race into the admissions process at all, can be seen as discriminatory and even offensive. I remember my initial reaction to it as a child being along those lines. I didn't understand why minorities should need that kind of program, that it might be almost insulting since there should be no inequalities as it was. But knowing more about the way affirmative action works and the way our education system works, I think I have a much more reasonable perspective now. The practice doesn't reject people based on being white, and it doesn't make it easier for minorities to qualify for admission, it simply states that in deciding between two equally eligible applicants that the spot should go to the person of minority race. Honestly, it's a small favor when looking at everything that's been denied to minorities over the years.

And doesn't diversity make our schools a better place? It stated in that article point blank that eliminating this policy would decrease racial diversity in future admittance. Is that really more just?