The ultimate goal of affirmative action is to create diversity and racial understanding among the peoples of the world, to give under-represented minorities a fighting chance in a competitive society.
Instead, affirmative action, specifically in the college admission context, has done just the opposite, dividing the nation and segregating racial groups into the "haves" and the "have-nots" in terms of abilities and opportunities.When used for college admissions, affirmative action is a counterproductive, patronizing and harmful practice that only perpetuates the concept of racial inequity.
In 1978, the Supreme Court ruled that the use of skin color as a "plus" factor for college admissions was permissible. Since then, controversy has erupted as to whether minorities with equal or even lesser capabilities are taking the places of Caucasian students in universities around the nation. Federal courts, however, are fighting to dispel such practices as evidenced by a ruling handed down to the University of Texas that diversity was an inadequate reason for minority preference.
Measures such as this clearly demonstrate the growing idea that affirmative action has been obscured in the admissions context and should encourage other universities to step back from these destructive practices.
Making exceptions for minorities holds a number of profound consequences for both students and the colleges themselves. Individuals begin to perceive that, based on their academic merits alone, they are not good enough for admission and that their race can be used to compensate for such "deficiencies." They may not push themselves to their full potential, feeling instead that they can always fall back upon their skin color for extra admission points.
This is an infinitely regressive cycle where students who have just as much potential to succeed are inadvertently told otherwise and learn to view themselves as needing that additional help. Colleges suffer because lawsuits claiming discrimination propel them into receiving students who may not meet the scholastic standards that the school is based upon. Rather than focusing on the quality of the education, they become more concerned with creating the perception of a quality education.
Affirmative action is supposedly all about equality and providing opportunities for all. But what about the students who, despite stellar academics, are turned away from a school because they have "enough" enrollment from that race? Isn't this a form of discrimination as well? The overall result of this type of affirmative action is a poor learning environment where students - both admitted and denied - are cheated out of the education tailored to their individual needs.
And yet proponents of affirmative action claim that without a racial balance, students grow up in an unrealistically homogenous environment; a glass bubble in which knowledge of different cultures and practices is shut out. But can affirmative action solve these ills?
The solution to any racial disparity our nation experiences can't be found by making exceptions. Instead, we need to delve into the reasons for an unequal balance in college student bodies. If certain races aren't reaping the benefits of academic opportunities, we need to encourage more active participation, beginning in elementary school. Perhaps mentoring or Big Brother and Big Sister programs that target "at-risk" - and I use that term loosely - students, involving and encouraging them in academics at an early age, will begin a long-term process of focusing on abilities rather than disadvantages.
By simply eliminating the race box on college applications, we can take a stand against the idea of handicapped individuals and begin to perpetuate the true concept of equality - the original intent of affirmative action.