Four years with eyes glued to an SAT prep book. Four years of countless nights studying instead of sleeping. Four years traded for a shot at attending your dream college. “It will all be worth it,” the student thinks, “once I get that acceptance letter.”
And despite all those sleepless nights, hard work and relentless studying, the acceptance letter never comes — but not because of GPA, SAT scores or college essays. It is the one thing that the student cannot change about himself that ends all his chances: the color of his skin.
This is the reality for many high school students applying to colleges today. Affirmative action grants otherwise out-of-reach opportunities to minority groups, inevitably at the expense of qualified applicants of different racial groups.
This controversial practice has been under fire recently; some consider it discrimination wearing the face of equality. When applicants are denied entry simply because they do not fit the demographic parameters outlined under the practice of affirmative action, it’s easy to see why many are calling for an end to affirmative action.
While affirmative action may appear to target white applicants, some minorities who affirmative action seemingly aims to help are suffering just as much, if not more. Last November, a group of Asian-American students accused Harvard University of discriminating against Asian-American applicants by holding them to a higher standard than other applicants and applying racial quotas in their admissions process. Despite Harvard’s denial of implementing racial quotas, it is true that Asian-Americans have the odds stacked against them when applying; according to a study from Princeton University on acceptance at elite universities, Asian applicants lose 50 SAT points.
While an official ruling on the Harvard lawsuit has not yet been delivered, this case brings an important question to light: is affirmative action doing more harm than good? When accomplished candidates are being denied admission because of the color of their skin, when racial divides are beginning to fracture the ideal of unity in diversity, does affirmative action still hold a place in our society?
When it comes down to it, the answer is this: No, affirmative action is not fair. However, it does not exist because it is fair, it exists because it is necessary.
Discrimination, stereotyping and economic divides are present issues in today’s society. Some people are just born with a step up in the world, purely because of their race. According to Forbes, the average white household will be 86 times wealthier than the average black household, and 68 times more than a Latino one. These racial wealth gaps ultimately result in lost educational opportunities. Not being able to pay for an SAT tutor or attend a prestigious private high school should not be a determining factor of acceptance. Making admissions processes colorblind will inevitably destroy the ideal of diversity that affirmative action aims to create.
Despite the apparent racial wealth gap, it is important to understand that applicants are not being accepted on the basis of pity. They are not “charity cases” by any means. Students accepted under affirmative action are ensuring an educated, diverse future of America. We need educated Asian-Americans and Caucasians just as much as we need educated African-Americans and Latinos.
The question of affirmative action isn’t a fight between whites and everyone else, nor is it a fight between Asian-Americans and everyone else, or between minority groups. Affirmative action is a fight against the possibility of an America in the hands of only one or two racial groups, and it’s a fight that we all need to take part in.
