This week the Supreme Court hears argument on a case that will surely impact my children, and all those applying to state universities in the future. In Fisher v. U. of Texas, a young woman from Texas sued the university for its use of race in admissions. She gave her first interview recently, and it gave a very interesting human perspective to this constitutional issue. I see both sides of this issue, and haven’t really decided whether I think race should be considered. As of now, it is constitutional to consider race as one factor in a holistic review of an applicant. But is it ethical? On one hand, several racial minorities in this country have suffered from discrimination and segregation historically, and may still be recovering. Racial minorities are also more likely to be poor and go to bad high schools. Thus, a boost in admissions seems fair in leveling the playing field. I wish we leveled the playing field in kindergarten instead, but that is a broader social issue that takes much more work. Affirmative action at the university level is really a short cut.
On the other hand, affirmative action creates a stigma, as assumption that racial minorities are only admitted because of their race, that is extremely harmful and painful to watch (I have seen it in my own classes). And it can set students up for failure, by placing them in unfamiliar situations with people that are nothing like them. Good support systems are crucial to success.
Read the interview and let me know what you think.
10 Comments
Alejandra Rovirosa posted on October 9, 2012 at 11:09 am
I am a minority. I would love to argue to help those like me, but I also understand that it is not fair for others. In the end, minorities are hurt by being placed in situations they cannot excel in. Race can be a plus, but it should not be the only factor considered. Race should be considered for admissions for the purpose of having a diverse community. I, however, do not agree in admitting minorities out of pity for having segregation challenges in the past or simply for the sole purpose of diversity. Those chosen must also qualify based on merit.
Thea Di Giammerino posted on October 9, 2012 at 3:27 pm
This issue drives me crazy because there are so many sides to it. The college application process in the US is by definition discriminatory (based of grades, where you went to school, what activities you did, etc) so adding race as one more factor doesn’t seem totally unethical to me. As someone who is not part of a racial minority and grew up in a middle class suburb and is therefore considered privileged, it’s impossible for me to comment on the emotional toll of such actions. On a personal level, I think comparing two people’s merits and judging one as more impressive than another just based on race is unfair because there are so many other factors for discrimination (sexual orientation, gender, income level, etc) that we need to address if we’re going to address race. That said, it becomes a mess of how much we should be expected to divulge when applying to schools. I believe in equality and diversity, but in my opinion to truly achieve that we shouldn’t have to mandate anything, and that’s an unrealistic dream in our current society.
Valeria Brito posted on October 11, 2012 at 12:39 pm
There is no way to evaluate a student other than discriminate him or her in some way. Therefore, if a university is going to discriminate, I believe that race and ethnicity should be the last element taken into account at the time of evaluating a college application. I believe that what counts are your academic achievements (grades, essay). Also, your personal traits. Then, if two candidates have same academic records and traits appealing to the university, race and ethnicity can be taken into account, as a more diverse environment benefits most of the students. But it should not be taken into consideration if the reason of admission is to help minorities get in into college because they have been discriminated over time. Merit should still be the main requirement.
Rachel Spooner posted on October 12, 2012 at 11:34 am
There are dozens of articles about the oral arguments last Wednesday in the Supreme Court on this case. Although predicting the Court’s vote based on their questions is a dangerous idea, some of the articles do a nice job describing the legal arguments. Here is a good one to read:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443982904578047192287305354.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read
Lisa Cottle posted on October 15, 2012 at 11:24 pm
Although I understand where this is all coming from, race and ethnicity should not be taken into consideration. I get that universities this day and age want to create diverse campus’s and so forth, but I don’t think that race or ethnicity should even have to be on the application. I feel as though people should earn their place. I even expend this to students with special preference because of relatives that work in the university or donate money. It is definitely unreasonable, but if it came down to two applicants with identical credentials I would rather have them pick a name out of a hat then to pick and choose based on race/ethnicity. Obviously, everyone has different opinions and they all bring valid points. In reference to the fact that certain races have had to endure hardships in our history’s past.. I get that and I sympathize, don’t get me wrong, I have a very mixed lineage that connects me to those hardships, but where/when do we draw the line. This reparations could continue forever. I think now is the time to strive for equality in anyway possible. We are all smart people and can accomplish anything we put our minds to. We shouldn’t let our race/ethnicity define us it limit us in anyway, and we most definitely should not let anyone else.
Dora Mwangi posted on October 17, 2012 at 6:14 pm
I agree Professor Spooner. If they dealt with the issue of inequality in the level of education from a young age ie. elementary school throughout grade school It would level out the playing field so that affirmative action does not have to be used or reduce its use. It’s saddening that it’s easier said that done since there are many factors that affect our education system.
Zach Barnard posted on October 18, 2012 at 2:46 pm
I have read this three times now, and I am still as confused and befuddled by my own thoughts as I was several days ago. In a perfect world, I think the question wouldn’t even need to be addressed, as it simply wouldn’t matter. Then here is when I get annoyed with the fact that people make it an issue in the first place; shouldn’t we all just go about our daily lives living up to the morals and respectability that we want to see in others? And then I remind myself that we need to stand up for minorities of any type that don’t get treated properly, either consciously or subconsciously, by many people around the world. People have rights, cultures have traditions. Where is the line in the sand? Again- I know I’m not fully making a case one way or the other, but it goes to show how complicated and confusing this issue is.
Stephen Wong posted on October 21, 2012 at 11:26 am
As an asian-american I have been raised up with ideals revolving around hard work, determination, and honesty. It sickens me to see a school deny students for the sole purpose of achieving affirmative action quotas because it doesn’t give a fair oppurtunity to those students that actually deserve to be at a top-tier school like UT. Students should be based on the merit, achievements, and their responses to essays that give some more background information to the admissions committee. And yes I agree with Ms. Fisher that there should be no race box (However, I feel like people can still make a pretty good assumption on your race based on last names – i.e. my last name is “Wong” so odds are I would be asian).
Overall, the whole affirmative action thing is a mess. When I was applying to college 3 years ago, I constantly saw articles in the news about schools like Harvard and Princeton being alleged that they give preference to Blacks and Hispanics over Asian-Americans, even when their applications were signifcantly weaker or less qualified. So I believe that there are two issues with affirmative action involving schools – one between minorities who qualify for affirmative action and one between the “majority” or whites.
Article back in February about the Affirmative Action thing at Harvard and Princeton:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-02/harvard-targeted-in-u-s-asian-american-discrimination-probe.html
Cristian Martinez posted on October 21, 2012 at 6:41 pm
As a minority myself, I understand how important this is. However, I believe that we are in a time where minorities have been able to excel just as much as someone who is not a part of a racial minority. That being said, I think merit is more important than race.
Jenny Perales posted on October 22, 2012 at 5:26 pm
If the top ten system UT uses is as effective as it claims, I don’ think race should be weighted additionally in the eyes of the University. My only caveat is the fact that minorities in Texas still may not have the same standard of educational resources in order to meet that top ten requirement. As you have said, affirmative action would be most powerful if it were utilized in early education, however this is not the case. Overall universities should only be able to give race extra weight if the top ten program is statistically not a powerful enough equalizer.