Affirmative action is one of the most recent and popular civil rights policies that is affecting today's society. Affirmative action is an attempt by the United States to amend a long history of racial and sexual discrimination. But these days it seems to incite, not ease, the nation's internal divisions. Affirmative action can be described as nothing more than a lower educational standard for minorities. It has become quite clear that affirmative action is unfair and discriminatory for a number of reasons. One very recent and heated debate is that of using race as a consideration in college admission. Although the government may think that by using affirmative action in this form they are helping out underrepresented minorities, they are actually causing more concern than they may realize.
There are several reasons why race should not be a consideration in college admission. A utilitarianist, or someone who believes in doing what will maximize social utility, like John Stuart Mills, would say that affirmative action in colleges lowers the educational standard.
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Education vs Experience
April 19th National Cemetery 4.19 국립묘역When an underrepresented minority comes to college from a high school lacking many educational tools, college can seem like a slap in the face. From a purely statistical point of view, the races that benefit from racial preferences in admissions, generally have lower standardized test scores and secondary school grades--two factors that typically weigh highly in both in undergraduate and graduate admissions, and for which there is no simple remedy. Unfortunately this lowers the standard for others to be admitted and it is a continuously downgrading cycle. A utilitarianist would say this because they would want what is best for the community as a whole, and a lower educational standard is not going to benefit students in any way (besides making college easier for those who are prepared),
College Admissions
As the Supreme Court has ruled, race can be a factor in college admissions but it cannot be the deciding factor. This policy seems to be a workable compromise regarding an extremely contentious issue. While it is considered the supreme law of the land, the High Court does not wish to micro-manage the admissions process, which is best left up to individuals. If points can be awarded for having a parent who was an alum, the admissions process is far from ideal and will likely remain so. In such a diverse society, America has kept relative calm within its borders by doing better than many countries in respecting the rights of minorities, although this might not be said of the nation's history which reflected the mores of an earlier time. In trying to make amends for past wrongs, allowing race to be one of many factors college admission committees may use signifies that America is committed to its ideals of open access to all citizens, even if the remedy is less than perfect.
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