Affirmative Action, go away! Options

[*Steven*]

Affirmative was created way back when to help blacks get back on their feet etc etc. Now it seems a lot of races use it as a crutch, assuming that because they're a minority that they'll get preferential treatment and that if they don't then it's racism. It was supposed to have just faded away as things became more and more equal, but lo and behold, it's still here.

Anyone think it should stay? What are your reasons?

[kimmytree]

^ More than it is for whites?

[Spirited Away]

^ More than it is for whites?

Generally, Asians are held on the same level as Whites on college admissions. However, I've read some articles that show many instances where they are worst off than Whites.

[Comptine]

Generally, Asians are held on the same level as Whites on college admissions. However, I've read some articles that show many instances where they are worst off than Whites.

It depends on how you look at "worst off". A lot of asians (Part of our culture, I guess. In China and other Asian countries, universities are reserved for the very, very top of the nation. Out of millions a city that take the merit test, only a couple thousand move on to higher education) spend a lot of time on grades and studying. So a lot of them are only academically appealing while other candidates have other stuff going for them. For the really competitive institutions like Harvard and Princeton, all these Asians look the same. Also, these colleges get hoards of Asians that obviously only apply to them for the name.

I think affirmative action should get tweaked. I knew someone in my school who was like a star football player, his parents were extremely successful, he was smart but he was also black. He got into Harvard. Everyone was sure he had a good chance to get in based on merit but everyone knew it was locked in because of his race. Another girl in my school had mediocre grades but had a relatively well off family and most people wouldn't call her UPenn material. She put Hispanic down and I think that helped her get accepted.

Affirmative action shouldn't look at race anymore. It should look at the community or social or economic class the person comes from. I think that is a fairer "help" than based on race because it would be ridiculious to "help" someone when they obviously had the means to succeed and do well. The two people I mentioned and I, we attended a really good school with excellent resources. They both came from a good environment. If they already had a good thing going for them and they are equal to White/Asian candidates, why should they get picked because they were a minority?

College is already extremely competitive where a dozen other people applying have the same stuff as you. Why should someone on an equal level get picked just because they were Hispanic or Black? I would understand if colleges picked a person if he came from the projects, attended a shit school with nothing to offer, his parents worked minimum wage jobs, and he was always minding his siblings and still managed to shine and make something of himself. That is a person that deserves a break and given a bit more allowance.