In 1961, John F. Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925. It states that government contractors must “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.” Affirmative action was started as a way to promote social equality. It meant to favor those who have been oppressed or discriminated against. While it might have been effective to begin with, it now seems as if affirmative action promotes the one thing that it was made to combat. It prioritizes race over accomplishments.
Affirmative action has caused people to be fixated on race rather than merit. The example that I’m going to use is affirmative action in colleges. “If you’re Asian, you get 160 points deducted from your SAT scores.” I’m sure that everyone has seen some form of this stereotype floating around, since it is statistically true that Asians usually score higher on standardized tests. I’m not 100% sure that the 160 points rumor is true, but statistics does suggest a disadvantage for Asian students. At Harvard, the class of 2019 is 21.1% Asian-American, at Yale it is 21.9%, at Brown it is 20%, and at Dartmouth is 19.9%. These numbers may seem impressive, but they do not account for the fact that the college- aged Asian population has doubled in the last 20 years. Furthermore, there is no insight given into how many Asians applied versus how many that actually got in. However, there is a comparison that can be made. The schools that I listed all enforce affirmative action in their process of admissions.
Affirmative Action is banned in California. All of the Californian Universities are expected to select their students based on pure merit. Not race, or sexuality, or religion. I will repeat, pure merit. I’m going to present to you the statistics of Asian students in the UC System. Throughout the entire UC system, 34% of the students are Asians. This is a bigger percentage considering that 23% of UC students are white, and 24% of UC students are Hispanic. There is a definitely a difference in percentages between the named Ivy League Schools and the UC System. Asians flock to both systems. The only difference between them is the way that their admission processes are run. A conclusion can be drawn by any individual with two brain cells to rub together.
Many people are angry at California’s ban. They call for more diversity and less Asians. I find that highly ironic coming from people who claim to fight for equality for all races. Affirmative Action does not only affect Asians but also other races as well. It gives a heads up to those of Black descent, and I haven’t seen anyone talking about the major disadvantages that it gives to Asians and white people. I guess racism is okay when it’s beneficial. Especially considering the recent call in Wisconsin for free tuition for black students, I think that this whole Affirmative Action/ Reparation Idea has gone too far. Let’s be honest here, Slavery has been abolished for 152 years. I doubt that anyone who is demanding reparations now is 152 years old or older. I find the sense of entitlement sickening. Some people will also claim that Affirmative Action helps those who have been discriminated against because of their race. Asians have definitely had a problem with racism, but Affirmative Action harms them rather than helping them.
The essential question here is why does everyone feel the need to force diversity? Since when did America become a country that rewards people for something as uncontrollable as their skin color? If no one should be punished for their race, then no one should be rewarded for it either. I see so many people nowadays prioritizing the color of someone’s skin over their achievements. Why? That isn’t helpful to anybody. It diminishes people’s accomplishment as well as prevent others from achieving theirs. So many schools brag about the number of black or Hispanic students that they have. Those students are people, not objects to brag about just to show everyone that the school is diversified. And since when did diversified equal to better anyways?
In conclusion, Affirmative Action is unnecessary and does more harm than good. If someone’s merits are up to par, then let them get what they deserve. No one should be punished or rewarded based on something as uncontrollable as their race. If all of these people truly want social equality, then they would fight against Affirmative Action. This way, students will actually be judged on their capabilities.
Sources: http://fusion.net/story/305868/asian-american-ivy-league-acceptance-rates-bamboo-ceiling/
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/fall-enrollment-glance
Daughter of Justice 