Affirmative action is a set of policies designed to help disenfranchised or disadvantaged groups by ‘eliminating’ unlawful discrimination. Disenfranchised or disadvantaged groups, refer to minorities and females. These set of policies were created to undo any past injustices and discrimination by giving these groups a chance to equal employment, economic, and education opportunities.
Many colleges and universities receive federal funding in which they have to be very careful in considering race within the application. However, there has been a couple of times where Affirmative Action has tested or reviewed by the supreme court with regards to admissions processes. In Bakke v. Regents of the University of California, the Supreme Court ruled that using racial quotas was unconstitutional. And by racial quotas, the school reserved spots for a specific minority group. Allan Bakke, white and qualified for admissions but was rejected due to the assertion that he did not fit into a reserved spot the University had. Racial quotas not only violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 but also violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, according to Justice Lewis Powell. The justices also voted on the decision that the medical school admits Allan Bakke. In 2003, another case regarding affirmative action was Gratz v. Bollinger, which was a class-action lawsuit. The University of Michigan’s Office of Undergrad Admission, when reviewing applications, a point system was used. And applicants of an underrepresented class were rewarded twenty points. The underrepresented class is referring to as minorities only. The court ruled that using a point system rewarding applicants due to race was unconstitutional. Not only that but, the policies that the admission used resulted in every minority being accepted into the school.
Currently, under Trump’s administration, the Justice Department is planning to investigate and sue colleges and universities over affirmative action admissions policies that “discriminate against white applicants.” The Justice Department eliminated 24 federal guidance documents that were considered “inconsistent, unnecessary, and outdated.” Several of those documents came from Obama’s Administration, which called for colleges and schools to consider race when diversifying their campuses. However, universities are not following Trump’s reversal.
In my opinion, race should be considered when we talk about diversity and enhancing diversity. When measuring a campus’s diversity, race is the primary factor. Grades, among other factors, should be considered when reviewing the application of an individual. Quotas should not be used in order to enhance diversity, nor should a bonus system be used either. Affirmative action has its flaws, but I believe it helps minorities by giving them an opportunity to cross the finish line. Yes, I do believe that the starting line is different among the races, and policies like affirmative action may help.
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