Affirmative Actions

I stand 100% by what I said today in class. Affirmative action is racism, and should be stopped immediately. It's racist, it leads to wasted grants and scholarships, wasted application spots, and the state that our nation is in right now.

First of all, it is inherently racist. Just because someone is a certain race doesn't mean they deserve to go to college. If one kid has more credentials than the other, then they deserve the spot in college, regardless of race, background, etc. Now, if the other kid has shined despite a bad background, or wrote a good application essay explaining the extenuating circumstances and the colleges believe this child is worth the acceptance, then they should be accepted. However, colleges should not look at two similar kids, or one kid that is perhaps "better" than the other, and select based on race. That is racist, and racism is looked down on in our society (as it should be).

Second of all, it is a waste of an acceptance and grants/scholarships in some cases. Sometimes, the student only applied because it was a high level school (UCLA for instance) and not because they think they can handle it. This student is accepted and given x amount of dollars in loans, grants, and scholarships. They can't handle the college work, because they weren't as studious in high school or for whatever reason, they are not ready. They were selected because they were a certain race, not because they were qualified for the spot, and they can't handle it and was dropped. However, another kid who was qualified for this spot in college is not accepted, and now the acceptance was wasted. Also, the first kid who dropped out has also received x amount of dollars to pay for tuition that he and the companies/groups giving out the scholarships/grants cannot get back. That is wasted money, because nothing came out of it.

Finally, our country is in a dire state. We are not the smartest country out there (i.e. the Bush presidency), and we are also in a horrible state economically (the Federal Reserve System is horrible, but I digress). The reason this country is not the best it could be is because many kids who should be going to college cannot because they weren't accepted. Some of these kids were not accepted because other minorities were accepted ahead of them. We feel like we need to accept more minorities because of affirmative action. Affirmative action is initiated by our government. Our government is supported by a nation in which, according to a census released in 2004, only 27% of adults 25 and over have graduated from college. So few people are graduating because some people who are accepted are not qualified, because they are minors. And the vicious cycle continues.

Affirmative action is NOT the solution. Granted, in the short term, it does solve the problem and allow more minorities to go to college. However, what this country NEEDS to do, is to clean up these communities in which the minorities come from. Clean up the poor towns, and create more jobs for people to have, better wages, etc., so that the people living in these communities do not resort to violence or drugs, and can focus on schoolwork. Once that happens, more minorities will be accepted into colleges, NOT because they are minorities, but because they are QUALIFIED.

In conclusion, affirmative action is not the correct move to make in this situation. This country cannot afford it, both in terms of academics and economics, and it is bad in the long-term. The right thing to do here is to clean up all the bad communities so that these minorities can go to college because they are ready for it.