Mia Cerami
People who are against affirmative action often argue it is reverse racism, and the way to be "fair" is to accept students solely on the basis of "merit." But what is merit? When people say merit, they often mean whoever has the highest tests scores or the best grades. Consider the advantages of someone who could get help in test prep. It doesn't mean they are not as able when given the chance.
I think we should think about merit in a much larger sense. I just listened to a segment on NPR which was discussing how researchers could predict the success of kindergartners to young adulthood. Their predictions weren't based on whether they could recite the ABCs or had the best memory or math skills, but rather on the children's social and emotional skills. The point is no one can test for these real life skills. Merit is a very difficult thing to test for and can mean very different things to different people. Do you make the most money? Are you the happiest?
NPR segment
Affirmative action, it's a continuing attempt to desegregate schools and give educational equity to everyone. If you want to look at the big picture its an effort to correct the inequities in the segregation history of the country. And reverse racism has been claimed because of a white people calling foul because they don't believe their merit is being honored. They claim it is unfair and discriminatory to give someone an advantage in the admissions process. That would be true if white history was the same as black history in this country.
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