Affirmative Action (1/15/17)

     Affirmative action is a policy that favors those who tend to suffer from discrimination, especially in the fields of employment and higher education. Although it was first implemented to help "level the playing field for minorities" and promote equality, I think the system is very much outdated today. For example, in the article "The Case Against Affirmative Action," David Sacks and Peter Thiel presents an argument that affirmative argument has not succeeded its goal of ending discrimination and thus, it would be best to try a different approach. Specifically, the article claims that "the average SAT disparity between Stanford's African-American and white admittees reached 171 points..." This shows how absurd and unfair the system is, that someone with lower test scores can get into a prestigious university essentially taking the spot of a more qualified applicant. Although I understand that test scores are not the deciding factor in admittance into a university and that there really is no solid way of going about things; I think the difference in test scores is crucial especially at 171 points. This can send a misleading message that working hard to achieve high scores are useless when considering affirmative action. Despite this, supporters claim that this preference is only to promote "diversity" on campus, even if this is the case, it still does not justify how the system is fair for all students regardless of race. As mentioned in the article, if "diversity" were really the goal "preferences would be given on the basis of unusual characteristics, not on the basis of race." While I do agree that "diversity" is an important factor, I do not think that race should be a deciding factor in it. To me, "diversity" means the struggles a person has been through, how they overcame it, the important people in their lives, and how all these factors shaped them as a person. Although race could play a role in this, I do not think that there should be a separate section during tests or applications to highlight this difference. Instead, I think that things such as a college essay is a perfect opportunity to highlight and showcase this "diversity." Ultimately, I believe that affirmative action has changed over the years and has not served to achieve its goal, but instead undermine it.