June 29, 2023 should really be a good day for
the minorities in America because the Supreme Court has finally recognized that
we are smart people. They have confirmed that we can get accepted into the
fancy Ivy League schools by working really hard and being really smart, and not
by relying on the “academic crutches” called affirmative action.
I want to make it clear that I am a black man, which means I belong to what Americans call a "minority group." I don't like affirmative action, which is when the government or organizations try to include certain groups like women, different races, people with certain beliefs, or people from different countries in places where they are not represented enough, like in schools or jobs. People who support affirmative action say it's meant to stop unfair discrimination, fix the effects of past discrimination, and prevent future discrimination. Nonsense: if affirmative action is meant to make up for past discrimination or disadvantages, it should only help people who have been discriminated against. However, current affirmative action programs give advantages to certain groups, even if an individual in that group hasn't personally faced discrimination. Also, most of the people who were victims of past discrimination are no longer alive, so it doesn't make sense to try to make it fair for them now.
Without putting it in so many words, when colleges
or other organizations (including government agencies) give out social benefits
like educational opportunities or jobs, everyone should be treated the same
unless there is a good reason to treat them differently. When deciding who
should get a job or go to college, the affected colleges or organizations should
look at a person's qualifications and abilities, not their race or gender. It is
just as unfair to give or deny benefits based on race or gender as it is to
discriminate like in the past. Also, the way current affirmative action
programs are set up, they unfairly ignore the needs of some people who are in a tough situation simply because
they are not in the minority group, while, at the same time, giving lots of
benefits to minorities who may not really need them. It is important to know
that even rich people also cry sometimes. We should understand and accept that
truth.
It is not an exaggeration to say that affirmative
action programs do more harm than good. First, these programs can overlook
people who may be more qualified for a job or college, and instead choose
people who are only a little qualified. This makes the workplace less productive
and efficient and lowers the standards in schools.
Second, these programs can make minorities
feel like they got accepted into college or hired for a job just because they
belong to a minority group, not because they are the best for the position. This
can make them feel stigmatized and like their achievements are not valued. They
might even start doubting themselves and feeling inferior. Third, these
programs can make people depend on them and not encourage them to become
self-reliant or develop the skills they need to succeed in school or work.
Fourth, when qualified non-minorities are passed over for positions that go to
less-qualified minorities, it can create resentment and tension between
different groups.
In my opinion, our society's burdens should
be shared fairly by everyone. These preferential treatment programs, like affirmative
action programs, are unfair because they put the burden on non-minorities who
are looking for jobs or higher education. These individuals are not directly
responsible for past injustices or fixing present inequalities more than anyone
else. It is not fair that they should have to bear the full burden. They
shouldn't be punished for things their ancestors did.
History and economics both shows that even though affirmative action programs may seem helpful, it actually causes problems. When we give special treatment to women and minorities, it doesn't always help the people who have suffered the most from discrimination and deserve compensation the most. Often, those who are most disadvantaged don't have the qualifications and skills needed to get jobs or go to college. Reports show that there is a growing difference between poor black people with little education and job skills, and wealthy black people who have more opportunities. It is also not clear if even the minorities and women who qualify for the affirmative action programs really benefit from it. Recent studies show that many minority college students who were admitted through affirmative action programs end up dropping out. When these individuals are given opportunities they are not ready for, it can make them feel inferior.
A Victory for Merit
As was noted above, the Supreme Court made a
decision that ended affirmative action in college admissions on June 29, 2023. In
my view, this ruling is a big win for the idea that people should be chosen
based on their abilities, not their identity. But the fight against racial
preferences is still going on. Our top universities don't really care about
having true diversity. They want everyone to think the same way and have an
appearance of equal outcomes, even if it is not really fair. Regardless of the
recent court cases, it is clear that most Americans don't support racial
preferences.
Whenever
affirmative action is put up for a vote, people usually vote against it by a
large majority. It doesn't matter if they live in a Republican or Democratic
state. Most Americans believe that our laws and institutions should treat
everyone equally, without considering their race. A survey conducted by the Pew
Research Center showed that 82% of Americans think that college admissions
should not take race into account. That is almost everyone! But the Left and
the institutions they control still want to push this idea on us. The situation
in California is a good example of this.
Back in 1996, California voters passed a law called Proposition 209. It said that public institutions couldn't use race, sex, or ethnicity when making decisions about jobs, contracts, or academic admissions. This law was popular in the state, and it seems that black and minority students who got into California schools actually did better after the law was in place. Then, in 2020, some left-wing activists tried to bring affirmative action back in California. They failed by an even bigger margin than before. Almost everyone, no matter where they lived or what background they had, didn't want it. People who support racial preferences made excuses for why it failed, but it is hard to believe those excuses when the measure was defeated by such a large amount.
The people supporting Prop 16 had a lot of advantages. They spent way more money than their opponents, almost 20 times as much. They had a lot of nonprofit organizations and big companies supporting them. The universities were also on their side. They tried to pass it in 2020 when there were protests about racism, like the Black Lives Matter riots and the "defund the police" movement. At that time, California was very liberal and had more people from different races than ever before.
But even with all these advantages, they
couldn't convince people to support a system based on race. People in
California and all over America didn't want it. The elites in charge of
institutions, though, they kept pushing for it. They just wouldn't give up. The
New York Times even said that not having racial preferences was a crisis
for the Left. According to the newspaper, the Democratic Party strongly
believed in bringing back affirmative action based on race, but the big defeat
in California showed that regular people in the party didn't agree. The New
York Times suggested that if the Supreme Court made another ruling against
racial preferences, which they just did, it could make the Democratic Party
change its agenda.
I'm not so sure about that. They might be
less likely to bring race-based policies to a vote because they know it won't
win. Instead, they will use their power in institutions and bureaucracy to get
the results they want. Sadly, many schools in California and other places have
found ways to get around the ban on racial preferences. They lower their
standards to make sure they have the mix of races they want. This has been a
problem at Harvard and other elite schools that were sued. The evidence shows
that Harvard tries to have a certain balance of races among its students. It
also shows that black and Hispanic students get admitted at higher rates than
white and Asian students with the same grades and qualifications.
Will colleges and universities accept the
Supreme Court's recent ruling and move forward? Not a chance. If they can't use
race in admissions, some schools with more resources will find other ways to
promote diversity. They might look at household incomes, ZIP codes, or use
special programs to recruit certain students. Their goal will still be to have
a certain number of students from different races, even if the Supreme Court
says they can't.
Higher education is where the belief in
racial preferences is strongest and unquestioned. That is where the power of
this movement lies. Universities will keep teaching students, who will become
future leaders, that we should focus on race and make sure everyone has the
same outcome regardless of their abilities. The institutions will fight against
any changes, and the media will support them. It is up to Americans and elected
officials to put pressure on them to stop. That might mean taking away funding
from diversity and inclusion programs. It might mean making it easier to remove
staff and faculty who push a highly racialized way of thinking instead of
encouraging real learning and independent thought. Those who disagree with race
preferences need to be proactive in fighting against these harmful ideas.
The Supreme Court dealt a serious blow to
racial preferences, but we can expect the institutions to fight back. The end
of racial preferences in college admissions won't be the end of this battle. It
is the people versus the institutions, just like in many other issues today.
Let us support the people and help them win.
Notes
Ax, J. (2023, June 29). What
the Supreme Court's Ruling on Affirmative Action Means for Colleges. Retrieved
from Reuters:
https://www.reuters.com/legal/what-supreme-courts-ruling-affirmative-action-means-colleges-2023-06-29/
Keenan, A. (2023, June 29). Supreme
Court Rules Affirmative Action 'Must End' in College Admissions. Retrieved
from Yahoo! Finance:
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/supreme-court-rules-affirmative-action-must-end-in-college-admissions-145400431.html
Pew Research Center. (2023,
June 8). Asian Americans Hold Mixed Views Around Affirmative Action.
Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/race-ethnicity/2023/06/08/asian-americans-hold-mixed-views-around-affirmative-action/re_2023-06-08_asian-americans-affirmative-action_0-05/
Powell , M., & Marcus,
I. (2023, June 11). The Failed Affirmative Action Campaign That Shook
Democrats. Retrieved from The New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/11/us/supreme-court-affirmative-action.html
Slattery, E. (2015, December
2). How Affirmative Action at Colleges Hurts Minority Students.
Retrieved from The Heritage Foundation: https://www.heritage.org/courts/commentary/how-affirmative-action-colleges-hurts-minority-students
Stepman, J. (2023, June 28).
On Racial Preferences, It’s Institutional Elites vs. the People.
Retrieved from The Daily Signal:
https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/racial-preferences-its-institutional-elites-vs-the-people
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