Essay on Education and Affirmative Action - 1082 Words

What does equality mean? For many centuries, America has had a difficult time answering that question. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, African Americans were not equal: white Americans would call them their property, put them into iron shackles, and would mercilessly beat them. From the seventeen to the nineteen hundreds and a lot longer before then, women were forbidden to vote; instead, women were expected to act as homemakers or work long hours within small factories in filthy conditions. Yet today, the issues of equality have been challenged by affirmative action. Across the nation, the use of affirmative action in education has stirred significant controversy. Some people believe that instigating affirmative action in the†¦show more content†¦Paul Gaston, a university professor who has taught for more than 40 years, has witnessed the changes on campus after affirmative action was introduced and concluded that â€Å"before African American undergraduates ar rived on campus, white students used to feel they had permission to say just about anything that came to mind about race† (Clayton). The ethnic diversity of students has made a remarkable change on campuses today. Now, students not only gain knowledge from their professors, but from their fellow students as well. â€Å"It made people [be] more honest, think harder, learn more, and be more sensitive to others,† Professor Gaston commented (quoted in Clayton). A diverse college experience encourages students acclimate to being more tolerant of diversity, thus giving them an opportunity to learn and to live in harmony with people of different backgrounds. Besides the fact that Affirmative Action can create a diverse environment, it also helps increase the chance for minority groups to get accepted into higher education systems as well. Studies have shown that students from families where few people have pursued higher education are less likely to excel in high school. On average, African American students will be four years behind the typical white or Asian student by 12th grade (Thernstrom). Two of the à ©lite University of California campuses, Berkeley and UCLA, witnessed a dramatic decrease in African American and HispanicShow MoreRelatedAffirmative Action And Its Impact On Education985 Words   |  4 Pagesthe executive order of Affirmative Action, which first barred government employers from discriminating based on â€Å"race, creed, color, or national origin† (Kennedy, 1961). Overtime the use of affirmative action moved from jobs to the education system. Affirmative action in schools truly gained momentum following the Brown v. Board of Education as educational institutions began to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling to integrate schools. When the Supreme Court ruled on education President Johnson affirmedRead MoreAffirmative Action And Its Effect On Education2230 Words   |  9 PagesAffirmative Action(,/;?) Necessary or Detrimental to Education? Martin Luther King Jr. once proclaimed â€Å"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.† This quote is infamous, and has been adopted as the essential basis of the minority equality movement. However, minority equality supporters and activists also support a policy that directly contradicts Martin Luther KingRead MoreAffirmative Action And Its Impact On Education3441 Words   |  14 Pages Since its creation in 1965 affirmative action has been heralded by supporters as a landmark achievement and a means to erase the legacy of discrimination and raise the educational outcomes and benefits of America’s protected classes.1 Despite the support it has received, there are large numbers of people who have expressed their opposition to affirmative action in education, claiming that it is a form of discrimination, and questioning its effectiveness. As the debate rages, researchers have exhaustivelyRead MoreIs Affirmative Action in Higher Education Outdated?783 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿Is Affirmative Action in Higher Education Outdated? Affirmative action policies have been in place since 1957 (Rubio 144). Presidents Kennedy and Johnson signed executive orders in 1961 and 1964, respectively, requiring government agencies and their contractors to take affirmative steps to ensure minority participation. Johnsons order was modified two years later to include women. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discriminatory hiring, promotion, and retention practices in both the privateRead MoreEssay about Education and Affirmative Actions951 Words   |  4 Pageschallenged through affirmative action. Across the nation, the use of affirmative action in education has stirred controversy. Some people believe that instigating affirmative action in the college admissions process would create a diverse education. Nevertheless, some consider that it is merely a policy of reverse discrimination against white and Asian students. In 1961, the notion of affirmative first appeared when President Kennedy told government contractors to take â€Å"affirmative action to ensure thatRead MoreAffirmative Action Programs : Education And Employment Essay2090 Words   |  9 Pages Affirmative action (AA) programs began as a management tool designed to ensure equal opportunity both in education and employment in the United States for members of underrepresented racial groups. There are numerous amounts of evidence to support that affirmative action programs have done exactly what they were established to do, but like with â€Å"any government policy that gives a positive meaning to some non-class non economic group difference†(Steinberg : 270) there are critics, who fail toRead MoreGender And The Board Of Education And Affirmative Action2864 Words   |  12 PagesHistorically, certain groups have been underrepresented and unsuccessful in higher education. These groups include Hispanics, Latinos, African Amer icans, etc. Efforts have been made at the federal and institutional level to reverse this phenomenon, namely Brown vs. The Board of Education and Affirmative Action. Despite these efforts, African Americans, or Blacks, still lag behind in graduation rates relative to other races and Black males even more so. There has been a myriad of research done andRead MoreRace Based Affirmative Action On Higher Education Essay1445 Words   |  6 PagesRace-Based Affirmative Action in Higher Education In 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 10925, which created the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, or CEEO. One purpose of the CEEO was to â€Å"recommend additional affirmative steps which should be taken by executive departments and agencies to realize more fully the national policy of nondiscrimination† (Kennedy). This executive order planted the seeds that grew into what is today known as â€Å"race-based affirmative action,† or theRead MoreEssay on The Negative Effects of Affirmative Action on Education1472 Words   |  6 PagesUniversity was required to select a set amount of minorities before them thanks to something knows as affirmative action. On the other hand, you may be a minority who simply can’t earn the feeling of equality because of educational and employed handicaps. Affirmative action in our education system it an unjust practice that we can do without if we can learn to live in a color-blind society. Affirmative action was first established in 1961 in order to ensure that minorities could secure a job based on theirRead MoreAffirmative Action : The Education System And Job Market1284 Words   |  6 Pagesprogram affirmative action was instilled into universities around the nation, it set different qualifications for minority applicants and assigned points based off race. With these new criteria instigated, people saw the program as alluding to the notion that if you came from a particular race, the bar was no longer set at a high standard and therefore no need to work as hard as before. Others saw it as a great step forward to helping those who needed the extra assistance. Affirmative action began