college+admissions



Affirmative Action, especially in college applications, is a touchy topic in America. The official definition of affirmative action is an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women. In addition, another overarching goal is to create a more diverse campus for future our future leaders. Many people see the idea of affirmative action as racist.

Many Caucasians view affirmative action as lowering standards for the benefit of minorities. This upset [|Jenifer Gratz], a high school senior applying to the University of Michigan. This young woman had a 3.8 GPA, great SAT scores, she was a member of National Honor Society, she did lots of charity work and she was a varsity cheerleader during her high school career. This well rounded girl, however, was not admitted to the University of Michigan.

Because Jenifer’s application was so strong, she assumed she did not get in to the university because a minority student with lower credentials filled her spot. Jenifer felt strongly enough about her declination that she filed a lawsuit against The University of Michigan claiming people that with worse academics, extracurriculars, and test scores were accepted by Michigan over her simply because they checked the box declaring they were part of a minority group. This case was called [|Gratz vs. Bollinger].
 * Race Relations-Opposing viewpoints **
 * David Bender & Bruno Leone-Series Editors **

This case made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The University of Michigan won with a vote of 5-4, and Sandra Day O’Connor had the deciding vote. This decision did not only affect the University of Michigan, but it states that all public colleges may ask what their applicants’ race is. []

People who argue that affirmative action is a good thing typically use the following points. First, affirmative action is leveling the playing field. America is all about equal opportunities. For teens who have not been able to pay for tutors, SAT classes, or exchange trips affirmative action boosts their chances of acceptance into good schools. Second, affirmative action is not only building a more diverse campus, but it is also helping the future of the business world. And third, affirmative action does not pour dumb minority students into college, it only opens doors for them. Students must be hard working and take advantage of the opportunity they are given. [] Several people believe that affirmative action does the opposite of its purpose. They think it takes opportunities away from other students. Others are irritated with the broadness of the racial declaration. Someone who is 1/8 Indian can have lower standards for getting into college even though they have never been discriminated in their life. Or, a girl that is African American with a doctor for a dad could be considered economically disadvantaged. However, a hard working, lower class, Caucasian would not receive any affirmative action benefits because that person is part of the “majority”.

Each side of this argument makes valid points, but each side has flaws in their arguments too. To me, it seems like the system needs to be changed. Personally, I agree with Condolezza Rice, "If you must take race into consideration, do it in a way that looks at the total person, that does not assume certain things about a person's race just because of the color of their skin.". Basically, look at applicants as a whole. This does include race, but there is more to each person than the color of their skin. []

Where I plan to go next... For the next half of this project, I would like to try to make a poll about affirmative action. It would be interesting to see what my classmates think about the topic. I would also like to add more statistics because people can easily comprehend and visualize how fair or unfair college admissions are. I plan on adding more quotes and opinions from politicians and school leaders and hopefully I can find a great interview to add.

AnnBibWoronoff