Affirmative action is a way of giving jobs and educational chances to those who many feel would be discriminated against. This was founded in the early 1970's as a way to keep discrimination from continuing in theses such institutions. People of all walks of life have many different views of what affirmative action really is about. My view of this situation is a mixed one.
When affirmative action began it was set fort to make sure that well deserving people could receive opportunities for education and employment based on their qualifications and merit not if the were considered to be a minority. There have been many revisions to affirmative action and some people really don't understand what it is all about. I would be one of these people. Although I know the basics I was not able to get the full understanding of it all, I believe that it still needs to be revised further. In today's society People aren't as discriminated against for being a minority as they once were. Back when affirmative action was brought about desegregation was relatively new and the people of the U.S. as well as the government felt it was needed to further help with desegregation. This was really set to make those that were against desegregation conform to America being the land of the people. Not just the land of the rich white people.since they are considered a minority. Some people in this country disagree with this concept. They believe that American children are suffering because of it in the educational aspect. Schools in many parts of the country must have a certain percentage of minority students. To me this is a double edge sword. It is my belief that minority students should be given just asmuch of a chance to achieve success educationally, I do not believe that college admissions should be solely granted minority status. I believe that this should be based on educational merit in stead. A hard working student is a hard working student no matter what age, sex, or race they are.
Another way that I think that affirmative action should be revised is that many companies allow a percentage of jobs to be held by minorities. But the jobs that are available for minorities are usually low end jobs. This I believe is really unfair. The companies that use this practice are usually the ones to be the first to pat their own backs for fulfilling their "Quota" of minorities.
I believe that this idea is immoral; I don’t believe affirmative action harms minorities, and I don’t believe people should be accepted to college for the reason of being black, but instead should be a fair process for both whites and blacks.
Affirmative action, while a great idea in the beginning, is no longer needed to make up for the past discrimination of women and minorities. It does not get rid of discrimination, but rather creates it towards whites and men. Any form of discrimination is wrong, whether intentional or unintentional. Businesses and universities will set aside a separate pool for minorities and women so they don’t have to originally compete against the whole pool of applicants. A person’s qualifications and how they got to where they are should not be questioned because of affirmative action. The only reason some people are still questioned or considered undeserving is because affirmative action still takes place. Getting rid of affirmative action in universities and businesses will eliminate reverse discrimination and ensure that their qualifications, along with achievements, will not be questioned based on the skin color or gender of a
majority, does not advance the cause of minorities in a meaningful way, and needs to be
Affirmative action programs may or may not have been appropriate in times past where inequalities were prevalent and programs to build diversity were mandated. In the United States today, where law bars discrimination, I feel employment opportunities should be based on merit and not on race, sex or any other preconceived notion. Actively recruiting candidates that do not meet minimum requirements or standards is counterproductive to any agency that strives to serve the public in an efficient and effective manner and further erode confidence in government.
..., or replaced with a policy based on socioeconomic status. Abolishing affirmative action completely has its disadvantages, for it does not increase diversity on campus. An admission policy favoring first-generation college students helps to increase diversity on campus. However, the purpose of affirmative action should not be to increase diversity on campus; it should be about giving disadvantaged students an opportunity at a better life. A policy based on socioeconomic status does that. Affirmative action must be put to an end and replaced with one of these alternatives. This country was established on the ideals of equality for all races, and affirmative action goes against all these ideals. Martin Luther King once said, “All men are created equal.” The color of someone’s skin should not be a determining factor for admissions into a certain college or university.
“Anyone interested in higher education should want to contemplate, on behalf of colleges and universities, students and faculty, alumni and paying parents, the fate of affirmative action(Chace, M William 20). The Oxford Dictionary states Affirmative Action is “an action or policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination, especially in relation to employment or education; positive discrimination.” In 1961, John F. Kennedy signed an Executive Order calling for “affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.” This is now known today as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission(EEOC). Affirmative action policies would later be forced upon businesses and have also been instituted at many universities where minorities are given preferred admissions over non-minorities. An Example of this would be at the University of Michigan where applicants who represented racial or ethnic minorities were given 20 points towards admission out of a 150 point system where only 100 points were needed to gain admission. Trying to put the 20 points in perspective, applicants with perfect SAT scores only received 12 points toward admission. This system was later struck down by the Supreme Court, but another similar policy was upheld at the University of Michigan Law School. With how diverse our society is currently compared to years ago, it seems to compliment that the policies have indeed worked. But now, the policies are questioned by many as whether or not they moral, constitutional, and/or...
From its points of origin, the intended use of affirmative action is to ensure that employees and applicants of jobs are treated equally regardless of their race, religion, and national origin. There is no question about this being the right approach. But, as mentioned in the article, when a company qualifies for government subsidies just for selecting a minority over equally qualified non-minorities, it's difficult to argue that affirmative action is working the way it's supposed to be.
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, affirmative action is “an active effort to improve employment or educational opportunities for members of minority groups and women.” However, despite its well-intentioned policies, it has been the source of much controversy over the years. Barbara Scott and Mary Ann Schwartz mention that “proponents of affirmative action argue that given that racism and discrimination are systemic problems, their solutions require institutional remedies such as those offered by affirmative action legislation” (298). Also, even though racism is no longer direct, indirect forms still exist in society and affirmative action helps direct. On the other hand, opponents to affirm...
Affirmative action started in the 1960’s as a way to end discrimination against African American and later all minorities - including women. By migrating people of all color into workplaces and colleges/universities seemed to be the suitable solution to diversify our nation. Although blacks had been freed for a 100 years, they continually struggled with segregation. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned the segregation of all sort in the United States, however that was not enough. Congress mandated the affirmative action program as a plan of desegregation. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy made reference to this plan, but it was not until September 1965 that it was enforced by President Lyndon Johnson. The program affected federal jobs, to include federal contracting company, and universities. In order to receive federal funding, each entity had to hire and enroll minorities. Affirmative action was a good jump start to get our nation to where it is today. However, affirmative action should not be continued because it is a form of discrimination, it is more harmful than helpful, and it supplements race or gender for one’s qualification.
Affirmative action was created to allow minorities to have more opportunities in the workforce and in education. It still remains to be a debate whether affirmative action should be a necessary route even though we have made progress towards greater equality. The argument over Affirmative action has been going on for some time with two opposing sides. There is one side who finds Affirmative action as an opportunity to the less fortunate; those who are against have the belief that it promotes less qualified individuals rather than a person own merit.
The issue of affirmative action has been a controversial one since its inception. The law was developed during the 1960’s as a result of the civil rights movement and the need to address injustices committed against minorities throughout the United States history. There were multiple attempts to correct the inequities between the majority and the various minorities including the 13, 14 and 15th Amendments. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 allowed for the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to create rules to end discrimination. Affirmative action came into being with the executive order 11246 issued by President Johnson. The Civil Rights Act and President Johnson’s executive order have been updated throughout the years to address gender, disabilities, age and other characteristics that could be considered discriminatory.
I believe that as of right now, we should have affirmative action. I take the liberal perspective because I believe affirmative action is essential to society. Affirmative action is important because students with a disadvantaged background need the help, American society still gives priority to one racial group over another, and because we owe it to minorities to make up for discrimination against them in the past.
Affirmative Action is a policy in the United States of America. It is in use to help minorities get equal treatment in admissions policies for big businesses and higher educational programs. In one way or another, this policy affects almost every person in America. It affects people directly, and most commonly, indirectly. When this policy affects people, it usually affects them in a negative way. When Affirmative Action first started, it was a descent policy, but with changes in society, it has become a policy that does more harm than good. Since this is what the policy currently does, Affirmative Action should be out of use for every application it has a function for. So, this policy should be out of every law book in America to eliminate the negative impact that it is causing. Affirmative Action is outdated because it is turning into a reverse discrimination policy.
Affirmative Action Affirmative action can be defined as action taken to compensate for past unfairness in the education of minorities. The current system of affirmative action allows universities to admit applicants from certain ethnic and minority groups with lower credentials. The main purpose of affirmative action is to produce a diverse campus population that is comparable to today's society. The use of race as a facto by which someone is admitted to college in the long run will compromise the quality of the university. Implicating affirmative action to solve the problem of diversity on today's campuses has lead to the creation of problems.
Many people believe that affirmative action is hurtful to minorities and women as it tells them the only way they can succeed is through the policy’s help. Although this may be true in some cases, studies and review cases have said otherwise. Affirmative action actually raises self-esteem as it provides them with the opportunity to advance in academic and employment opportunities. In fact, many big named corporations such as, AT&T, IBM and Sears have increased minority employment since they began using affirmative action. I do not think anyone would be upset with the chance to get ahead in life.