DOES AFFIRMATIVE ACTION ON CAMPUS DIMINISH OPPORTUNITIES FOR OTHER AMERICANS
First of all the Supreme Court has argued that affirmative action aids admissions for all races including low income families of minority groups such as women. Through AA the group that has gained the most opportunities for corporate advancement is Caucasian women (Sturm Gunier, 2005). Additionally, support for Affirmative Action on college campuses comes from the case of UCLA v. Bakke went to the Supreme Court which upheld affirmative action in admissions by one vote. The basis is that a university has the rights to accept students that contributed to diversity. They even said that a diverse student body is a better learning environment for all students. The Supreme Court Justice at the state level was Lewis Powell who supported the following statement. He said quotas are not allowed, but colleges can think of race as a plus similar to the arts, sports, or other diverse contributions to education.
For example, business magazines such as Fortune, and the New York Times support the policies in the workplace according to Stephen Steinberg, author of Turning Back The Retreat from Racial Justice and Policy (Sturm Gunier, 2005). Also corporations understand that a diverse culture in the workplace is helpful to expanding talent and they appreciate the innovative edge in our global economic markets (Sturm Gunier, 2005). It has been proven by the corporations that affirmative action does work as far as the policy is concerned. The main debates that take place at the universities across the nation, the media, and leaders in Congress come from political posturing and campaign promises (Sturm Gunier, 2005).
Secondly, it is strange that the attack against affirmative action does not come from corporate America, the companies that are expected to follow AA guidelines. Affirmative Action has evidence of working both in the corporate sector and from the academic community in graduating a better prepared workforce. Instead most of the issues come from the political world. Today many of the political journals oppose affirmative policy. For example the politically charged Proposition 209, (in California and a similar law in Michigan) and traditional admissions that award college entrance not on the basis of race, but favors students that come from rich families. This proposition appears to support the wealthy or higher income families and discriminate against students from low income families. In fact the number of African American admitted to UCLA was only 2.6 in 2006 since the Proposition. This may be a form of reverse affirmative action for the majority (NYT Leonhardt, 2007).
Thirdly, support from constitutional legislation in the historical records state affirmative action as a tool used to reverse discriminatory acts against African Americans. In support of AA, a former President has said AA in education is rooted in what President Lyndon Johnson called unforeseen forces, he said ability is stretched or stunted by the family that you live with and the neighborhood you live in by the school you go to and the poverty or the richness of your surroundings. It is the product of a hundred unseen forces playing upon the little infant, the child and, finally, the man.
Plus the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title VII allow courts to defend victims of discrimination. They understand that the true roots of affirmative action rests in legislation from the 1940s that excluded African Americans in the New Deal by President Truman that said the government should provide (social) security for all other Americans who contributed to the workforce according to Thomas Sugrue (1998). He also explained how Civil Rights supporters at strived for equality since the 1940s and these efforts were the beginnings of affirmative action. Since the 1940s up to today it appears there are Americans who do not want this equality between the majority and minorities in America. Many saw it then and today as putting in jeopardy their own job security (Skrentny, 1998).
Lastly, the academic community has largely been supportive of Affirmative Action in the college admissions department however there was little research that justified their position over the past twenty years. This evidence has never been more important to the future of African Americans, women and minorities in our society. Recently more educators have stepped up the research and done several in-depth studies, gathering information from students and faculty at institutions of higher learning across the country. These academic studies have found some exciting and hopeful proof for the strategy. Affirmative Action has been found to be not only favorable to the corporate world as we have already discussed, but students, educators and the future of our workforce can also benefit. There is credible evidence of this. The leaders in the political arena who have based decisions on opinion and hearsay in the past can now make decisions based on more than opinion or assumptions about the future of affirmative action using the facts discovered. The question is will they do so.
There is evidence that Affirmative Action builds a stronger, more intelligent and experienced workforce through research from University Educators. A professor at the University at Michigan, Patricia Gurin, begins a study that tracked minority and majority students in her psychology department from admission through graduation. Her reasoning was to find support how Affirmative Action had affected their behavior and thinking. In her reports she found that the classes taught with diverse groups of students was experienced more active, conscious, effortful thinking ... the kind of thinking needed for learning in institutions of higher education.
The public opinion of students on Affirmative Action also supports our question of is benefits. For example, a major study was conducted by Harvard University under the Civil Rights Project. This project focused on the students point of view at prestigious law universities relating to diversity and the effect of affirmative action. The thesis consisted of finding out if a campus of racially diverse students contributed to the education of all students. This study was underwritten by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, among others including donors from Harvard to ask students directly about their educational experiences with diversity and affirmative action reports Gary Orfield, PhD. professor at UCLA (2003). Dean Whitla from the Harvard University Graduate School Education contacted over 1,700 students at both Harvard and the University of Michigan. Other studies included University of Chicago, Virginia, Yale, Minnesota, and Iowa. In addition a Gallup poll was introduced to get a larger sample size that would remove any bias in the collection of data (Orfield, 2003).
The response to the survey was at over 80 of the law students. Regardless of where the collection of responses came from, they were similar in content (Orfield, 2003). For example the public University of Michigan had similar responses as the private Harvard School. Location did not matter as well with Harvard being east coast and Michigan being from the Midwest.
The polls showed that those that criticize Affirmative Action in admission to colleges are incorrect. There is data that shows Affirmative Action is of benefit to all the students on a campus. It seems Affirmative Action generates very strong educational advantages. It was reported that 90 of the students felt diversity had a positive impact on their own education (Orfield, 2003). The students felt they experienced deeper learning during discussions during and outside of classes. They reported that their understanding of concepts and ideas was increased in context and perspective regarding course material and even societal and relational issues. The students believed the experience of law school with others of different cultures and racial backgrounds even changed their viewpoint on legal matters and how society truly functions. For example, a sample of the white participants remarked it was next to impossible to comprehend the complexities of the criminal justice system accurately if the minority students perspective was omitted.
Conclusion the Future of Affirmative Action
No, in answer to our question these arguments conclude that it is wrong to view affirmative action as a disadvantage for other students in employment or education. In fact the researchers were pleasantly surprised to find that white students and those of Asian descent that are considered victims in affirmative action had positive relationships and experiences on campus and later in employment. Another important point to note when the students were asked to compare the classes attended with racially diverse students to classes of the same race. It was discovered that all students found the diversely mixed classes far more intellectually challenging and were more apt to look for and consider alternative solutions by over 90. This translates into what Corporate America has already discovered. Affirmative action can be a positive force for change if upheld by our political leadership (Orfield, 2003). It can support organizational culture by providing an educated and diversified workforce to motivate our workers, institutions, and society into achieving answers to our economic dilemma together. This is one possible future.
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