In defense of affirmative action

Affirmative action is as relevant and necessary today as it was in the 1960s ades of affirmative action have paved the way for more women and people of color to pursue opportunities that would have otherwise been impossible under the previous legal racial discrimination that occurred in employment and education.

Despite all the good that has arisen from affirmative action, it has also been a source of controversy. The most recent challenge began when Students for Fair Admissions filed lawsuits against The University of Texas, The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Harvard on the basis of race-based discrimination in college admissions. They claim that white and Asian students are being discriminated against in the admissions process. Much like the plaintiffs of another case the Supreme Court is hearing regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act, SFFA is essentially claiming reverse racism against a policy that is intended to protect minorities from historically racist policies.

These cases are a blatant example of the zero-sum mentality that prevents the alliance of racial minorities and instead creates a kind of oppression Olympics pitting minorities against one another. This zero-sum mentality manifests itself as the belief that admission of more Black or Latinx students means that a spot is being taken away from an Asian or a white student that has a higher test score or a higher GPA. SFFA claims that colorblind admissions is best for everyone and that affirmative action tells Black and Latinx students that they are less intelligent and less capable of scoring highly on tests and were only accepted based on their race. Is SFFA claiming that students of color accepted into elite universities have not earned their spots, especially since many selective universities claim to use a holistic approach? What SFFA does not consider is the extensive research on the racist and eugenicist origins of standardized testing and how historically racist pol- icies — like exclusionary housing practices, medical racism and more — have resulted in less opportunity for many people of color, and therefore less expendable income and security. Lost opportunities as a result of this intergenerational racism can negatively impact academic performance.

Instead of targeting affirmative action, SFFA should turn its attention to the selectivity of elite universities and fight to make higher education more accessible for all those wishing to pursue it — especially considering that for women and people of color, admittance to an elite university positively correlates with increased job prospects and earning potential. If affirmative action is ruled unconstitutional, though, it is not a matter of if these colleges will become less diverse — it is when. Unfortunately, college admissions are not the only thing that is threatened by the overturning of affirmative action — scholarships on the basis of race are also in jeopardy.