Corbin Platti
Every year, millions of high school students across the United States apply to colleges and universities to begin their transition to adulthood. Although crafting the perfect admissions profile is a daunting task for anyone, marginalized students are dealt a worser hand: Limited access to resources, such as private college counselors who can help attain impressive academics and extracurricular feats, means that it is more difficult for these students to create competitive applications. Through a set of policies known collectively as “affirmative action,” schools attempt to level the playing field by assisting historically underrepresented groups. While controversial, affirmative action policies remain necessary to promote equity, and should therefore remain legal.
The idea of affirmative action was introduced by then-President John F. Kennedy during the Civil Rights Movement, when laws prohibiting race based discrimination by employers were being implemented. Although these employer laws did not affect schools, many chose to adopt similar policies in regards to their admissions processes. Schools that made such changes saw their student body diversity increase. For instance, the number of Black students admitted to the freshman classes of Columbia University and Harvard College in 1969 more than doubled from the previous year. The following decade also saw an increase in Black students’ attainment of four-year college degrees.
THE NUMBER OF BLACK STUDENTS ADMITTED TO THE FRESHMAN CLASSES OF COLUMBIA AND HARVARD COLLEGE IN 1969 MORE THAN DOUBLED FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR
As similar policies became more prevalent within higher education, some schools began to face backlash, especially from white students who claimed to be victims of reverse discrimination. The matter was first brought against a court by Marco DeFunis, who sued the University of Washington Law School on the claim that his acceptance had been denied on the basis of his race. Upon reaching the U.S. Supreme Court, the case was dismissed, since DeFunis was in his final semester of law school at a different institution, making the case pointless in the eyes of the judges.
Since then, the Supreme Court has reviewed affirmative action multiple times, making minor adjustments to how colleges are allowed to implement these policies. In 2022, Students for Fair Admissions—a non-profit dedicated to taking legal action against “racial classifications and preferences in college admissions”—sued a governing body at Harvard and the University of North Carolina for their affirmative action policies. Students For Fair Admissions claims that both institutions violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which states that “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Both cases were heard on Oct. 31, 2022, but the verdict will not be released until June 2023.
COLLEGE IS A TRANSITION INTO ADULTHOOD, AND LEARNING HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND COMMUNICATE WITH THOSE FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS IS CRUCIAL.
In 2017, The New York Times found that the proportion of Black and His- panic students at elite schools was nearly 10 percentage points lower than their makeup of the U.S. college-aged population. Banning affirmative action would only broaden these disparities, making it more difficult for historically under- represented groups to climb the socioeconomic ladder.
Furthermore, the diversity that affirmative action brings to college campuses benefits all students: College is a transition into adulthood, and learning how to understand and communicate with those from different backgrounds is crucial. In a 2012 statement, the American Council on Education stated that “Education within a diverse setting prepares students to become good citizens in an increasingly complex, pluralistic society.” The merit of higher education may lie in getting a degree, but opportunities for personal growth should not be ignored.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IS NECESSARY IN THE STATUS QUO, AS IT PROMOTES EQUITY AND CORRECTS DECADES OF DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES.
Some have argued that affirmative action negatively impacts certain groups, such as Asian and white Americans. According to census data from 2021, 61% of the Asian American population who was over 25 years old had a bachelor’s degree. That same metric for white, Black, and Hispanic populations was 41.9%, 28% and 20.6% respectively. Median household income tells a similar story: White and Asian Americans remain at the top making close to $90,000, whereas Black and Hispanic Americans make around $53,000. Even after decades of affirmative action, Asian and white Americans continue to exceed Black and Hispanic Americans in educational attainment and access to high-paying jobs. Even if affirmative action has created increased competition for White and Asian Americans in the college admissions process, it is clear that neither group has been set back in the long term.
Although great strides have been made in the fight against social inequality, its lasting effects should not be ignored. Affirmative action is necessary in the status quo, as it promotes equity and corrects decades of discriminatory practices. As we work to eliminate the disparities we see today, however, it is natural that equity-promoting policies will become less necessary, and discourse surrounding affirmative action should continue.
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