Since the ruling in U.S. Supreme Court case Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, race-based university admissions policies across the country are falling under stricter scrutiny. The case — brought forth in 2008 by Abigail Fisher, a high school senior who was denied admission to the University of Texas at Austin — marked an important step in the push to abolish affirmative action.
But despite their ruling, the justices did not go far enough with their instructions and missed an opportunity to end a program that remains misguided in its intentions, unfair in its practice and hopelessly flawed in its design.
Race-based admissions policies have no place in higher learning. Using race as a consideration for admissions decisions not only exemplifies the idea of racial hypocrisy, but also fundamentally alienates the very idea of equality.
Affirmative action emerged from the desire to create a program that supposedly leveled the admissions playing field for minorities who faced not only discrimination in the admissions process, but also often came from historically under-resourced neighborhoods. But what was once supposed to be a set of temporary measures has since depreciated into a permanent system of entitlements that bypasses common sense in favor of broad aid, based not entirely on true need or merit, but now on race alone.
Affirmative action was supposed to compensate for the shortcomings of the American education system and bring opportunity to even the most resource-deprived communities in the United States, which were historically full of minority families. But the real injustice now stems from the fact that affirmative action has gone so awry to now favor minorities from wealthy backgrounds over white children who grew up in poverty-stricken environments.
Allowing admission based on the color of skin is just as wrong as denying admission because of it. Discrimination should be held as wrong in both cases because it goes both ways. The assumption that people of any race should receive preferential treatment is a relic of the past.
By assuming that all black students come from low-income housing and attend lower quality schools, affirmative action unfairly considers racial factors based off stereotypes that are not ultimately true. The policy does not account for or consider the fact that a number of minority high school students have a high standard of living, attend excellent schools in affluent suburbs and are out of poverty. But by rewarding these students based on their race, not their circumstances, affirmative action fundamentally misses the point.
[quote]Yes, we need a program to help students from under-resourced and historically underprivileged areas. But no, affirmative action does not adequately address that problem.[/quote]
The idea of diversity as a compelling public interest allows universities to use affirmative action policies to lower admissions standards for minority students in order to foster a diverse environment. Obviously, diversity remains a crucial part of developing students and preparing them for a globalized world after graduation. But using race as a decision factor must be abolished in favor of a program and set of standards that can remain fair and far-reaching in their practice.
By encouraging class-based — instead of race-based — admissions policies, it would embrace a color-blind set of admissions standards and might actually help overcome the problem and allow a truly level playing field for under-resourced students of all races. We need a program that helps under-resourced rural white students in the same way it helps underprivileged urban black students. Class-based admissions would remove any sort of racial bias that I believe continues to create fervent opposition to affirmative action. Yes, we need a program to help students from under-resourced and historically underprivileged areas. But no, affirmative action does not adequately address that problem.
I believe in equal rights — not special rights — because civil liberties belong to all people, not specific groups. I reject the idea that group-rights policies that grant preference or consideration based on race or gender are acceptable, and further believe that they are nothing more than simply a blanket cover-up that compounds one injustice with another. Two wrongs do not make a right, and affirmative action does not reverse the pain suffered by groups of people in the past. What affirmative action does do is reward people based on the color of their skin. And that is wrong.