Within pages 209 to 262, Tatum covers topics such as Affirmative Action, Latinx, and Native American development overtime. In this blog post, I will be responding specifically to the section where she addresses affirmative action and how it has played a role in our society, both in the past and present-day (p. 209-220). As she states her reaction and thoughts on both the definition and use of affirmative action today in her book, I too will be putting in my own thoughts and tying them to a recent event in our country.
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Tatum begins this section of her book by defining the original form of affirmative action in our country. She states that "affirmative action was introduced into our language and legal system by Executive Order 11246, signed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965..." (p 215). It was put in place to "ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin," (p 215). I find this ironic for even though this may be the ultimate goal of affirmative action, it is not always how this system currently operates in areas such as college admissions.
One example of affirmative action carrying out the opposite of what it was originally intended to do was in 2016: the University of Texas faced a lawsuit when a young white woman named Abigail Fisher failed to be admitted into this college for arbitrary reasons (Heriot).
Apparently, her grades were "not quite up to standards that whites and Asians must meet in order to gain admission" as stated in the University's policy (Heriot). However, they were better than those needed for an African American or Hispanic to be admitted, therefore others of the "right race" but wrong academic status were chosen over her (Heriot). The case was eventually brought to the Supreme Court, which reflects the severity of this issue because it is such a controversial topic. This is a prime example of how whites need to work harder than other students of the "right skin color" to be admitted and can still be rejected.
In an attempt to prevent inequality against minorities in this country, the act of admitting students based on race creates reverse discrimination. Hardworking students can feel that all the effort they put into getting into the college they've worked so hard for is wasted when both their academic merit and volunteer work isn't even given the time of day when compared to someone that has come from a historically disadvantaged background (Hoover). I'm not justifying how some of these minorities were discriminated against in the past by any means, but affirmative action is merely this same problem in reverse.
Samuel Alito, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, stated in the Fisher vs University of Texas case that "in failing to note that U.T.'s admissions practices discriminated against Asians, the Court's majority acted 'almost as if Asian-American students do not exist'" (Gersen).
The academic qualifications for the University that were unveiled during the Fisher vs University of Texas case are shocking:
"The mean SAT scores (out of 2400) and mean high-school grade-point averages (on a 4.0 scale) varied widely by race for the entering class of 2009. For Asians, the numbers were 1991 and 3.07; whites were at 1914 and 3.04; Hispanics at 1794 and 2.83; and African-Americans at 1524 and 2.57." (Heriot).
No one can deny that these academic qualifications are unfair and discriminate against students who are unable to do anything about it because they have no control over their race. There shouldn't be requirements specific to some students because of their ethnicity. All of these academic requirements should be the same for all prospective students so that all of the most qualified students are admitted, not necessarily just the ones that will create diversity.
This lawsuit is a perfect example of how affirmative action programs can be corrupt and deprive perfectly qualified students of the ability to attend a college of their dreams. I understand and agree that it is upsetting that some people in our society psychologically still have racial comments embedded in the back of their minds. However, this shouldn't be "fixed" by subjecting anyone to the color of their skin alone.
Works Cited:
Tatum begins this section of her book by defining the original form of affirmative action in our country. She states that "affirmative action was introduced into our language and legal system by Executive Order 11246, signed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965..." (p 215). It was put in place to "ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin," (p 215). I find this ironic for even though this may be the ultimate goal of affirmative action, it is not always how this system currently operates in areas such as college admissions.
One example of affirmative action carrying out the opposite of what it was originally intended to do was in 2016: the University of Texas faced a lawsuit when a young white woman named Abigail Fisher failed to be admitted into this college for arbitrary reasons (Heriot).
Apparently, her grades were "not quite up to standards that whites and Asians must meet in order to gain admission" as stated in the University's policy (Heriot). However, they were better than those needed for an African American or Hispanic to be admitted, therefore others of the "right race" but wrong academic status were chosen over her (Heriot). The case was eventually brought to the Supreme Court, which reflects the severity of this issue because it is such a controversial topic. This is a prime example of how whites need to work harder than other students of the "right skin color" to be admitted and can still be rejected.
In an attempt to prevent inequality against minorities in this country, the act of admitting students based on race creates reverse discrimination. Hardworking students can feel that all the effort they put into getting into the college they've worked so hard for is wasted when both their academic merit and volunteer work isn't even given the time of day when compared to someone that has come from a historically disadvantaged background (Hoover). I'm not justifying how some of these minorities were discriminated against in the past by any means, but affirmative action is merely this same problem in reverse.
Samuel Alito, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, stated in the Fisher vs University of Texas case that "in failing to note that U.T.'s admissions practices discriminated against Asians, the Court's majority acted 'almost as if Asian-American students do not exist'" (Gersen).
The academic qualifications for the University that were unveiled during the Fisher vs University of Texas case are shocking:
"The mean SAT scores (out of 2400) and mean high-school grade-point averages (on a 4.0 scale) varied widely by race for the entering class of 2009. For Asians, the numbers were 1991 and 3.07; whites were at 1914 and 3.04; Hispanics at 1794 and 2.83; and African-Americans at 1524 and 2.57." (Heriot).
No one can deny that these academic qualifications are unfair and discriminate against students who are unable to do anything about it because they have no control over their race. There shouldn't be requirements specific to some students because of their ethnicity. All of these academic requirements should be the same for all prospective students so that all of the most qualified students are admitted, not necessarily just the ones that will create diversity.
This lawsuit is a perfect example of how affirmative action programs can be corrupt and deprive perfectly qualified students of the ability to attend a college of their dreams. I understand and agree that it is upsetting that some people in our society psychologically still have racial comments embedded in the back of their minds. However, this shouldn't be "fixed" by subjecting anyone to the color of their skin alone.
Works Cited:
Gersen, Jeannie Suk. "The Uncomfortable Truth about Affirmative Action and
Asian-Americans." The New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2017, www.newyorker.com/news/
news-desk/the-uncomfortable-truth-about-affirmative-action-and-asian-americans.
Accessed 18 Dec. 2018.
Heriot, Gail. "The Sad Irony of Affirmative Action." National Affairs, 2017,
www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-sad-irony-of-affirmative-action.
Accessed 7 Dec. 2018.
Hoover, Eric. "What Colleges Want in an Applicant (Everything)." The New York
Times, New York Times Company, 1 Nov. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/
education/edlife/what-college-admissions-wants.html?module=inline. Accessed
7 Dec. 2018.
Good additional research to support your opinions. Was the school's defense of their actions and standards at all because of the idea that students from certain backgrounds might have a better education, thus leading to higher SAT scores and GPAs? It would be interesting for you to discuss this point with the "Shame of the Nation" group. Also, what was Tatum's view of this topic?
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteI agreed with a lot of what you discussed in your post, especially the part about Affirmative Action. I struggle to understand how proponents of Affirmative Action, who profess to be so vigorously against racism, support the policy as it stands today.
I think that the intent behind Affirmative Action is just - helping poorer minority groups to succeed is a noble goal. However, I don't agree with the assertion that all minority groups, even minority applicants who grew up in affluent communities, should be given preferential treatment in the admissions office over Whites or Asians, for example, who did not.
In my view, the goal of Affirmative Action is to help poorer minorities achieve upward mobility. However, the policy as it stands today is inherently racist, as it assumes that all African American applicants should be given preferential treatment because they will need it, while in reality, only some do.
As a case in point, I have a teammate named JD - an African American - who grew up in Greenwich Connecticut (one of the wealthiest towns in America) and currently attends Exeter, who will likely enjoy favoritism as a result of Affirmative Action and colleges wanting to have a "diverse" student population. In essence, his "Blackness" will give him an advantage where he doesn't need one, because Affirmative Action has made such actions legal.
I struggle to see how this is fair - a black student who grew up with wealth and privilege potentially enjoying the "one factor among many" if matched up against a White or Asian student of even similar caliber.
In my view, Affirmative Action, which as it stands today allows admission to sometimes be contingent on race, should be replaced with a socioeconomic policy. Similar goals may be achieved, because as our authors both note in their books, blacks are often poor. The difference will be in legalizing and endorsing a college to admit a student from a privileged background on the basis of race over other students (like us) who have similar grades and scores. Allowing such an action, as Affirmative Action does, is racist and should be made illegal.
As always I'd love to talk to you more about this subject. I personally find Affirmative Action to be a very hot topic, so I'm always game to tackle it together.
-Nick
Hi Nick! I like how you talked about your teammate because it proves our point even further. I agree that affirmative action is a racist policy because, like you stated, "it assumes that all African American applicants should be given preferential treatment because they will need it, while in reality, only some do." I'd love to talk more about this with you too because it's nice to hear what else you have to add to my thoughts on topics like this!
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