Chloe Golfinos - Blog Post 3

            Wikipedia provides the following definition: “[It’s] a condition in which discrimination, sometimes officially sanctioned, against a dominant (or formerly dominant) racial or other group representative of the majority in a particular society takes place, for a variety of reasons, often as an attempt at redressing past wrongs. It has been described as ‘preferential treatment, discriminating in favor of members of under-represented groups, which have been treated unjustly in the past, against innocent people.’”

If you had to guess which term this quote was defining, affirmative action or reverse racism, which would you pick? If you chose affirmative action, you would be wrong; this Wikipedia definition is the first result when you Google search reverse racism. This definition illustrates the controversy and confusion surrounding affirmative action, while some people argue that affirmative action is necessary and others argue that it is unfair.

Racism has plagued our country since its founding, while white privilege thrived. Because of racism’s long history, I believe that affirmative action is a beneficial step towards righting that wrong. Affirmative action has been present in our country for decades; however it used to give the majority racial group an advantage. White males were privileged over minorities because of their race and their connections. For this reason alone, I believe the today’s affirmative action, even if it is only for a shorter time, should be allowed as a means of rectifying and compensating for our country’s 100+ years of previous bias. 

Although affirmative action may appear unfair to some people, without it racism would prevail and there would be no progress made in creating diversity. Affirmative action is necessary in ensuring a certain amount of diversity. Without this diversity our country would not be able to make any progress or think of any new ideas. Colleges and universities would be filled with all of the same time of student, producing the same ideas. Diversity is imperative if we are going to advance as a country.

If affirmative action did not affect college acceptance, the vast majority of the students in schools of higher education would be privileged, white kids. These are the student whose parents went to college and told their kids that they could strive to attend any college that they would like. In addition, these parents, who understand the importance of a college education, provided tools for their kids to succeed. Many privileged students receive help in studying for the SATs, for example. Growing up in a supportive environment filled with resources definitely serves as an advantage. Meanwhile, if there is a student of a minority group who receives a similar, yet slightly slower score on his SATs does it mean he is less qualified? Many students of minority groups are achieving similar goals as their counterparts from majority groups, yet they are doing so with no resources, help, nor support. Children from minority groups have to work twice as hard to battle adversity while white students often face little to no conflict.

                 If affirmative action helps our country take steps towards remedying our past wrongs and reaching a level of educational equity, then I believe it is a necessary policy.