The affirmative action debate: the controversy over race-based university admission policies - example political science paper

Affirmative action programs began in the 1960s but in recent decades has become controversial. This sample college politics paper examines the affirmative action controversy in the context of university admissions. The paper nicely lays out a background on affirmative action and sites relevant Supreme Court cases. It would be a good reference for a student who wants to write an objective analysis on a politically sensitive issue.

Do two wrongs make a right? Charting affirmative action in university decisions

Every spring, high school seniors around the country anxiously check their mailboxes in hopes of receiving acceptance letters to various universities. Historically, acceptance into college has been based on grades, SAT score, character, letters of recommendation, extra-curricular activities, and personal statements. However, more recently, another factor in the admission process has emerged; race-based admissions. This new policy has been established in order to give minority students a better chance to gain acceptance into college. This policy, which has been labeled affirmative action, was established in the nineteen sixties under President Lyndon B. Johnson to help diversify higher education in the U.S. and serve as a remedy for past discrimination. Affirmative action is defined as, "Giving preferential treatment to members of a racial, sex, ethnic, or other groups because they are members of groups who have received discriminatory treatment in the past" (Roberts, 90). Furthermore, the use of race in University decisions is supported by some and opposed by others. Proponents of affirmative action claim that it is necessary to achieve diversity in education, which in their opinion should be sought above all else. While opponents argue that race-based admissions actually promote racism and discrimination of people based on the color of their skin. Since the installment of race as a factor in university admittance, many people and organizations have challenged the constitutionality of affirmative action. The Supreme Court has heard numerous cases relating to race-based admission and the debate continues today. Furthermore, this essay will examine the differing views as to whether race should be used in university admission decisions.

In the past, minorities have been discriminated and underrepresented on college campuses. Much of this is a result of the Jim Crow laws that kept African Americans and whites in segregated schools, preventing blacks from receiving an equal education. It wasn't until the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling that education opportunities for minorities began to change. The Brown decision in 1954 ruled that schools had to begin dismantling segregation, citing the idea "separate but equal," was actually far from equal. Then in 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, which bared discrimination by federally funded colleges. The Civil Rights Act was the base behind the creation of affirmative action, a policy President Johnson greatly supported. "You do not take a person, Johnson said, who for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say, You are free to compete with all the others; and still justly believe you have been completely fair" (Jost, 745). Thus, in the sixties many colleges began using affirmative action programs to raise the number of minorities enrolled. However, starting in the nineties, race-based admission policies began receiving a lot of criticism from people claiming that affirmative action only added to racism.

As a result of race being a factor used in determining whether or not universities accept specific applicants, numerous lawsuits have been filed claiming that race-based decisions are unconstitutional, violating the fourteenth amendment. In the Supreme Court case DeFunis v. Odegaard, Marco DeFunis a white graduate from the University of Washington claimed he was "denied admission from the universities law school so that a less qualified minority student could be accepted" (Worsnop). The law school had received 1,600 applicants for 150 openings said that 36 minority students had been admitted with lower grades and test scores than DeFunis. Though this case was never decided because DeFunis was admitted during the deliberation, it demonstrates the problems and costs associated with using race in admission decisions.

Another case dealing with affirmative action is the University of California Regents v. Bakke in 1978. Allen Bakke was white male who had been denied admission to UC Davis' medical school two years in a row and sued the university because his grades and test scores were better than most of the minority students who had been accepted. Due to affirmative action the school had set aside 16 spots for minorities in its medical school. The court ruled that the university could not set a fixed quota for minority students. However, they also ruled that a university could, "consider race as one of the many factors that determine which applicants are accepted" (Worsnop). Through this decision affirmative action was given more specific guidelines, while still being upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court. "In Bakke, the Court dismissed all arguments advanced by the University of California, Davis to justify race-conscious affirmative action programs in remedying past racial discrimination; instead, the Court only accepted the justification of diversity" (Harvey). Moreover, race-based admission was only justified as a means for promoting diversity in universities and should therefore be used to diversify.

Although the Bakke decision established more specific guidelines for affirmative actions, it was far from ending the debate as to whether race should be used or not. The Supreme Court cases Gratz v. Bollinger is an example that affirmative action is still highly debated today. Jennifer Gratz, a white female, claimed her rejection from the University of Michigan was unfair as lees qualified minorities were admitted over her. The court sided with the University of Michigan claiming its admission policies were fair, and correctly adhered to the Bakke decision, admitting minorities in order to promote diversity. Justice O'Connor supports affirmative action in her majority opinion: "The hallmark of that policy is its focus on academic ability coupled with a flexible assessment of applicants' talents, experiences, and potential "to contribute to the learning of those around them." The policy requires admissions officials to evaluate each applicant based on all the information available in the file" (Moses, 14). The court's decision in this case demonstrates that race can be used in admission decisions if the universities policy contributes to a better education.

A major question facing the use of race-based admissions is if affirmative action is truly benefiting minority students. According to a study done by the U.S. Department of Education, in 1980 the percentages of college graduates for Whites was 25%, 11.6% for Blacks, and 7.7% for Hispanics. Whereas in 2000 college graduates rates for Whites was 34%, 17.8% for Blacks, and 9.7% Hispanics. These statistics show that affirmative action has benefited minorities, though not to a great extent. Another study by the U.S. Department of Education in 2001 examines the percentages of whites and minorities at U.S. Universities. Blacks enrollment from 1976 to 1995 had risen from 6.3% to 7.6%, Hispanics went from 2.1% to 4.4%, Asians went from 2% to 4.9%, and Whites went from 89.2% to 86.2%. These stats illustrate that while race-based admission has raised the level of minority enrollment, its affect has been quite small. Proponents of affirmative action cite these studies as evidence that greater emphasis needs to be put on getting minorities enrolled, while opponents claim that affirmative action is an ineffective method for spurring proportional representation. Critics also point out that giving minorities admission advantages is racist and encourages stereotypes and discrimination. "Some critics, including a few African Americans also say racial preferences stigmatize the intended beneficiaries by creating the impression that they could not be successful without being given some advantage over whites" (Jost, 742). While affirmative action has increased minority enrollment in colleges, it can also lead to racist ideas and trivialize minority's achievements.

Another issue within affirmative action is if race-based admission policies should be used to remedy past discrimination toward minorities. There was conflicting evidence about whether or not the Supreme Court believes providing a remedy for past discrimination should be a role of affirmative action. The article by Kenneth Jost in CQ Researcher, says "The Supreme Court, in Bakke, said that racial classifications were constitutional if they were used as a remedy for proven discrimination" (Jost, 741). Contradictorily, David A. Harvey's paper claimed that the Supreme Court said race-based admissions used to remedy past discrimination was unconstitutional. These contradicting views are a result of the various interpretations people have concluded from ruling regarding affirmative action. These pieces of scholarly research demonstrate that people, who have different opinions toward affirmative action programs, can look at the same evidence, and come to different conclusions. Those who favor race-based admission would support the idea that providing a remedy for past discrimination is a worthy cause. However, opponents of race-based admission argue that using affirmative action to make up for past discrimination is unconstitutional. "If you have criteria that discriminate and are not educationally justified, then the appropriate response is to get rid of those criteria, not to use two wrongs to make a right" (Jost, 741). Furthermore, opponents claim race-based admission simply discriminates against another group and repeats the wrongs of Americas past.

In addition to acting as a remedy for past wrongs, race-based admissions also promote diversity in the student population. While this is clearly represented in studies, the real question lies in whether diversity is as essential to the education process as proponents claim. The University of Michigan states that because of the 100,000 students that graduate from the states high schools, only three hundred and twenty seven African-Americans had a B+ average and a SAT score above 1,000, it has to give advantages to minorities in order to maintain a racially diverse student body. This claim rests upon the notion that diversity is essential in higher education. "Without the current bonus for minority applicants, the number of African-American and Hispanic students would drop dramatically from the current level of 13 percent of undergraduates to somewhere around 5 percent" (Jost, 742). In contrast Michael Rosman, attorney for the Center for Individual Rights in Washington says diversity is not a goal worthy of discrimination, or treating people differently because of race. Supporters of race-based admission claim to have social-science evidence that racial diversity illustrates a direct substantial educational benefit for all students. Opponents state that these programs promote stereotypes by saying there is a black outlook or an Asian outlook. In an effort to provide evidence of the educational benefit of racial diversity, Patricia Gurin, chairmen of the Psychological Department at the University of Michigan wrote: "Students are more motivated and better able to participate in an increasingly heterogeneous and complex democracy" (Jost, 750). Thomas E. Wood and Malcolm J. Sherman did a major critique of Gurin's study in their book "Is Campus Racial Diversity Correlated With Educational Benefits?" They found that the national student database shows no relationship between the number of minorities on campus and educational benefits, and that diversity activities only had minor impacts on educational outcomes.

Despite the current debate between those in favor of race-based admissions, and those against it, both sides claim to ultimately want colorblind admissions. The President of the University of Michigan and Gratz testify to this in their statement: "Michigan graduate Jennifer Gratz and President Bollinger agree that someday colleges should stop using race as a factor in admission decisions" (Jost, 754). However, while these two sides claim to be searching for the same thing, critics of affirmative action believe the time for ending racial preferences is now. While supporters of using race in the admission process argue that we have only began to make progress toward equality. They say that the thirty-five years of progress since the civil rights act cannot possibly have fixed three hundred years of discrimination. Although both sides want the same thing, this debate is sure to continue, at least until the Supreme Court gives a more decisive ruling than those previously judged.

Overall, there are numerous opinions about the use of race as a deciding factor for whom to admit into universities. My research basically concluded that both sides have valid arguments and can find statistics and examples to back their views. Proponents claim that research shows racial diversity on college campuses is vital to the education process, whereas critics state, their research shows no relationship between a better educational environment as a result of diversity. Each side uses past Supreme Court rulings to either support the notion that affirmative action should be used to remedy past discrimination or argue against its constitutionality. I believe the best policy solution, is for race to only be used as one of many factors taken into account when admission officers are deciding whom to admit. As the Supreme Court has ruled, colleges should not use a quota system, because it simply discriminates against a whole new group of people. In addition, the specific race of an applicant should have much less importance placed upon it than factors such as grades, test scores, and letters of recommendation. Finally, both proponents and opponents of race-based admission can agree that this is an issue that will take cooperation from both sides in order to solve.
 

References