Friday, May 2, 2014
Seniors - E.C. Affirmative Action
We spoke in class on Wednesday about SCOTUS's (Supreme Court of the United States) 6-2 decision upholding Michigan's ban on affirmative action. Affirmative action is not merely associated with one's race, it also affects women and the handicapped. I implore you to explore this topic by reading the NY Times article reporting on SCOTUS's decision, the comments on the NY Times website discussing these matters, as well as your experience in a school that has been criticized by the NAACP for its refusal to impose affirmative action like standards in its admission process. Consider the role of affirmative action in college admissions. What is right? What is wrong? What should we do?
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While affirmative action is a contentious issue, it is important to note the history of affirmative action and the civil rights movement and its intended purpose. Affirmative action was first introduced by the Roosevelt Administration in the Wagner Act, which attempted to bring economic security to poor workers (who were most likely minorities) during the Great Depression. Moreover, many New Deal programs often demanded equal opportunity for anyone—including women and minorities. Affirmative action from then on was slowly applied to other public institutions such as the army, hospitals, police forces, and eventually schools. However, the purpose of affirmative action within this time didn’t change; it was intended to create diversity and ensure institutions were more representative of the population they were serving.
ReplyDeleteIndubitably, the current educational system in the United States does not solve the problem of representing minorities; schools remain racially homogeneous since desegregation began (and if you don’t think so just compare our school to Urban Assembly). Yet, affirmative action does not solve the problem for a variety of reasons. In general, it is a simplified solution to a complex problem. What are partially to blame for the blunder of affirmative reaction in the U.S. educational system are its economic roots. Affirmative action works well in a professional setting since it is already taking people who are qualified/ skilled in the trade (i.e. lawyers, doctors, engineers, and other workers). Education is different because it is trying to bring people from the community and build them a foundation to be productive members of society. Furthermore, an adequate education needs to begin at an early age to be effective, not at college (which ultimately should be the goal for any student though). Simply allowing minorities to attend public schools through affirmative action is too little too late (college really is the end of an education not the beginning). Not only does it discriminate against other races such as Asians, but also lowers the standard for minorities. Instead, the educational system needs to raise the standard and level of learning of minorities who are found in poor communities. Ironically, it is those communities that need the most money, but receive the least amount of aid (especially in very republican states where education is largely ignored).
Affirmative action does not give minorities a better education. To bring more minorities out of the cycle of poverty many find themselves in, more funding must be involved, especially in elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. Although it might not seem like it, we truly are privileged to go to a school like Stuyvesant. In some ways, it isn’t fair that a test determines who is qualified to go to this school; doing well on the SHSAT doesn’t necessarily translate to excelling in Stuyvesant. Moreover, the test becomes irrelevant once you enter the school, and it’s more important to be a good student rather than an excellent test taker. So, even if affirmative action isn’t the best way of admitting students, neither is a test. Overall, the educational system needs more attention and funding to bring in results which are in contrast to cheap solutions like affirmative action and the SHSAT.