Words: 1110
Affirmative Action in College Admissions Affirmative Action has become one of the most controversial issues regarding college admissions. It is an issue that exposes profiling to its highest extent. Race, gender and income now become vital factors in education opportunities. Affirmative Action is the procedure that is used as a criteria in admissions that will increase the points a college applicant receives on their application evaluation based on the previous factors. Whether race should be considered in the admission of a college applicant, is without a doubt a must in all states.
Affirmative Action definitely will improve the opportunities of a minority student applying at a university but it will not be the deciding factor. When universities adopt affirmative action in the admissions they understand that merit plays a more important factor. Nevertheless, affirmative action can only help a student that is already prevailing academically. As a result, affirmative action should play a role in the college admissions decision. This is because minorities tend to be at a disadvantage in income and education opportunities.
It is also important for the university to meet its Perez 2 desired level of diversity, thus through affirmative action this can be achieved. Ending affirmative action would significantly decrease the number of minority applicants. Theoretically, racial profiling will always be imperative in evaluating the capacity of each individual. However, how is race related to college success? Even though the United States is formed by immigrants from all over the world, it is the appreciation of diversity that has made this country such a unique ‘melting pot’ of cultures.
Minorities in this country tend to be at a disadvantage simply because some of them are immigrants, low income, or because they do not have education opportunities. Mexican immigrants for example live in one state of the United States then around February move to a state up north to find better job opportunities. Unfortunately, these children cannot complete their education because they have to travel with their family and learn to manage at a young age a life of hard labor.
This however does not diminish their dreams of completing high school and some day attending a university so that they will not have to live the life of struggle their parents did to sustain the household. In cities like Detroit, MI there is a large population of low income Hispanic and African American families. The public school system unfortunately cannot potentially promote a high-quality education. The majority of these students do not receive an entrance level education simply because of living standards. Income plays an important role in education opportunities regarding the quality education each student can pertain.
Since the minorities in that area are low-income they cannot afford to attend a private high school that can better prepare them for college. According to a research done at the University of Texas-Pan American, “certain racial or ethnicity factors should play a role in the admissions decision. ” (Marklein) Perez 3 Affirmative action will also assist the university in reaching their desired diversity quota.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled that universities can consider race as one of the main factors in admissions. This policy stands only if non-race-conscious alternatives are found to be inadequate to achieve the desired level of diversity. (Miller) Since minorities tend to be at a disadvantage in education opportunities, affirmative action can aid in their admissions of they have the qualifying merit. Without affirmative action, the minorities accepted into a university would decrease no longer would diversity be promoted.
Since diversity plays such an important role in student life, it is essential that affirmative action remains to assure the university required diversity level and students an opportunity to learn of other cultures. Ending affirmative action in public colleges in Texas would affect tremendously the diversity level of students applying. According to a study done on whether ending affirmative action would lower the percent of minority students applying to college at the University of Texas-Pan American, the percent Hispanics applying to college lowered by 1. percentage points and the percent of African American students applying to college lowered by 2. 1 percentage points. (Dickson) Minority students were aghast by the government’s decision to terminate a policy that they rightfully deserved. Because minorities do not have equal opportunities this is the only way they are compensated for their disadvantages. Since racial discrimination will always exist; this policy that could only benefit a minority should not end. Instead this policy could help bring an end to racial discrimination in the college admissions.
Perez 4 Affirmative Action is a policy that should be adopted by all public and private universities. Race, gender and income are factors that affect the opportunity a minority faces when applying for college. It is important that all women know that they are considered a minority. Such as the case sent to the Supreme Court by a Caucasian female from the University of Michigan, who ignorantly disregarded the fact that she was a minority who benefited from affirmative action. Race should definitely be considered in the college admissions decisions because it serves as a perfect compensation for all of the struggles minorities live daily.
Promoting affirmative action will motivated more minorities to apply and be admitted into a college or university. Considering that merit should be evaluated more than race, together both can assure the success of a college student. No longer will minority students feel they are at a disadvantage of being admitted into a university because they are low income and could not attend an academy. Most importantly affirmative action assures diversity in student life and could result in an increase of minority students applying for college.
Affirmative action ends…and so will the dreams of millions of minority students. The beauty of each ethnicity is defined through culture and character. All students should be able to fly without borders and prosper without limitations. Perez 5 Works Cited Dickson, Lisa M. “Does Ending Affirmative Action In College Admissions Lower The Percent of Minority Students Applying to College. ” Economics of Education Review vol. 25, Feb. 2006: pg109-119. EBSCO HOST. University of Texas ??? PanAmerican Lib. , Edinburg. 17 July 2006. ;http:// search. epnet. com/login. spx? direct=true=aph=19198511 Marklein, Mary Beth. “College Admissions Examined” USA Today 24 March. 2006 EBSCO HOST. University of Texas-Panamerican. Lib. Edinburg. 17 July 2006. ;http://search. epnet. com/login. aspx? direct=true=aph=J0E209214870504 Miller,Charles. “University of Texas Campuses Can Make The Choice on Affirmative. ” Black Issues in Higher Education vol. 20, 28Aug. 2003: pg19. EBSCO HOST. University of Texas-Panamerican. Lib. Edinburg. 17 July 2006. ;http://search. epnet. com/login. aspx? direct=true=aph=10747110