Zsanelle Morel - Affirmative Action and Reverse Racism

Affirmative Action creates reverse racism. Discuss.

I disagree with that statement. Racism, according to the Miriam Webster Online Dictionary, is defined as "a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” Affirmative Action does not produce this belief on anyone’s part. Colleges and universities do not use race as “the primary determinant of human traits and capacities.” Almost every college, especially the most prestigious ones, will describe their admissions process as “holistic,” meaning that they take into account all aspects of the student’s application, including test scores, recommendations, college essays, and more. Although there are also other political and reputation-conscious reasons for them to accept certain students over others, I think that it is wrong to believe that the sole reason for the acceptance of a student of color is his/her race. There must be other ways that the student was able to convince the college to accept him/her.

In the hypothetical case of two students who have all aspects of their applications the same except that one student is white and the other is a person of color, I do not find it wrong or racist for the college to choose to accept the student of color instead of the white student, if it could only accept one. The person of color will bring a different culture and experience to the college that the white student could not bring simply because of the racial difference. Therefore it would make sense to increase the diversity of the school by accepting the student of color rather than the white student and it would not be “reverse racist” for the college to do that.

Also, by accepting a student of color over a white applicant of equal below-the-median merit, the college does not demonstrate a belief “that racial differences produce an inherent superiority” of minority students over whites. If anything, it could demonstrate that they expect more from a white applicant, which, in the hypothetical case of an otherwise completely identical application, that would also demonstrate a belief in the racial superiority of whites over other races. So, in fact, Affirmative Action does not create “reverse racism;” instead it simply perpetuates the classic form of racism against minority groups, who, once accepted, also have to deal with blatant racism and microaggressions once they arrive on campus.