The View From Here: Affirmative action is full of problems
It’s time to end affirmative action — extra bonus points or racial preference — in college admissions.
That has been the case in Michigan, which is now also the subject of a Supreme Court challenge. The controversial policies sparked national debate that is likely to go on for months.
Besides more favorable methods for admitting minorities, race is also factored in undergraducate college admissions there with 20 bonus points, which is not based upon academic achievement or life experiences. Everyone should have problems with that.
If you’re a person who has spent many years working hard to try to increase your chances of getting into a sought-after school, how must you feel when someone else is automatically given 20 points that there is no possible way you can get?
Granted, it’s a complicated issue. There are still racial issues that strongly divide people and certainly racial discrimination still exists at some level in some places in the country. But whatever happened to the concept of hard work as something to be cherished?
Hasn’t everyone been taught that hard work is the way to go? Combining effort, practice and ultimate mastery is supposed to get you anywhere. That was the golden rule. Whether people choose to apply themselves is up to them — but work should matter. And to be fair, accomplishments do also play a strong role in college admissions, but the stronghold of merit seems to be weakened when bonus points that not everyone can earn are granted.
Perhaps a better system for college admissions would be to hire a diverse admitting staff to review applications. Or, as my quarterly conservative critic recently advised — they need to be color blind. I guess the theory behind that idea is not such a bad one. It is the belief that people are capable of seeing merit for what it’s truly worth.
We’ve gotten to the point in America where most people can accept others even though they’re different. We have in place a myriad of laws that back people up when they’re wronged and discriminated against. And, we have an extremely competitive environment where the best people are sought after in most business circumstances.
Since I’m obviously white, I may be missing the pain and suffering of those who have been discriminated against. And although I’m far from the discriminating statement, “Some of my best friends are ….,” I don’t think it would be in poor taste to say I went to school with a minority student who was successful because it was obvious he had the determination to go places.
The hours and effort he put into his work and his willingness to go the extra mile to perfect what was turned in were notable – and not notable in a discriminating, surprising way. The man worked hard to gain knowledge and everyone respected that. I dare say he would be offended at someone saying that because of his minority status, he wasn’t as capable.
We have taken great strides in our country to end discrimination based on very real race issues, to the degree that when legitimate issues arise about reverse discrimination, the majority feels guilty. And although the points were probably a good idea at one time, perhaps it is time to test how far we’ve come.
The Supreme Court’s opinion should give us a good idea of how much the government thinks we can trust each other to do the right thing. Maybe we are better than we think we are and if obvious advantages based upon minority status were taken away, merit would be more meaningful.
(Amy Satterwhite is a reporter for the Standard. She can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].)