Affirmative Action

3 Pages 757 Words

Affirmative action by definition is a system designed to remedy past discrimination and eliminate current and future discrimination. This has become quite the problem in many areas. I have read and come to understand that this is an immense problem within the universities. In one university this has been pinpointed and tried in court numerous times, such as the University of Michigan. Michigan policies amount to a quota system that unfairly rewards or penalizes perspective students, based solely on their race. America is a diverse country, racially, economically, and ethnically. We all believe that our institutions of higher education should reflect the diversity we try so hard to portray. Also, being in a university based on different backgrounds of many different people, this teaches you respect, understanding, and goodwill.
So the question is, do the universities have the right to single out students solely because of their skin color on whether or not they’re academically equipped for their institution? There were two separate but parallel cases based on just that very question. The Grutter vs. Bollinger case decided on a 5 to 4 vote to uphold the University of Michigan’s law school affirmative action policy, which would be in favor of the minorities. The next case Gratz vs. Bollinger showed a 6 to 3 vote, which struck down the affirmative action policy for undergraduate admissions.
In the first ruling of affirmative action in higher education admissions, the nation’s highest court ruled that race could be used in university admission decisions. They also had to put limits to the amount of play the factor of race can have in your actual admission process.
My thoughts on this are very simple. I believe and always have believed that your mental ability has nothing to do with your background, your skin color, nor does it have anything to do with your religion. I was contemplating that thought and if you think about it, it re...