By Mike Clutterbuck
The Daily Cardinal
Nov. 4th was a momentous day in American history. Whether you supported Obama or not, there is no denying the election was incredibly symbolic. America has come a long way to finally electing an African-American president. Most importantly, Obama has said time and again that this opportunity was granted to him by his dedication and drive. He said, of himself, about his time at Columbia, When I transferred, I decided to buckle down and get serious. I spent a lot of time in the library. I didn't socialize that much. I was like a monk."" Obama never released his grades officially, but I would argue that it wasn't because they were bad (even though we've seen numerous candidates in previous elections that didn't have outstanding GPAs). Seeing Obama speak shows that he is an incredibly intelligent person, and his college grades most likely reflect this intellect.
If anything, he has shown that through hard work alone, he has reached perhaps one of the most powerful positions on the planet. This is an inspiration not only to minorities, but all citizens across the country. It is becoming increasingly difficult to state that a blanket of racism still covers the United States (do not confuse this with me saying racism doesn't exist).
Prominent African-Americans like Ward Connerly, founder of the American Civil Rights Institute, have already started to say this election is a sign that ""affirmative action has run its course."" Academia donations to Obama were around 19 million dollars, compared to only one million for McCain. Other industries (real estate, banks, miscellaneous businesses) also donated to Obama in record numbers, with much smaller donation amounts going to McCain. They believe in Obama, and they became institutions that believe in the symbolism of his election - institutions not likely to discriminate by race.
Fifty-five percent of white citizens voted for McCain and 43 percent voted for Obama. It would be incredibly naive to say that the 12 percent disparity was only because of racism. When Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor pushed for a 25-year extension to affirmative action programs, Obama himself said that he hoped it wouldn't be needed. In fact, he hoped that when his daughters (aged 9 and 7) applied to college, they would not have to be looked at through the typical affirmative action mindset. The New York Times, in an interview with the president-elect, quoted him as saying, ""affirmative action [should become] a diminishing tool for us to achieve racial equality.""
It is quite inspiring to hear Obama himself say that affirmative action should not be needed. To him, what matters most is making sure kids who deserve to go to college can afford to do so, not that kids with bad grades and no work ethic take your place in schools. The programs should be re-examined not to be based on race, but on class. Whether you agree with him or not is irrelevant. It shows his goal is opportunity, not diversity for the sake of diversity.
Affirmative action was going to remain an institution no matter who was elected. The institution is set in stone, and it would be political suicide to advocate its destruction. But contrary to what most people may think, the election of Obama may be the one thing that will bring about the decline of affirmative action programs. His election shows that through hard work and dedication, no matter your skin color, you can achieve great things. Assuming he is right and he can reform public education and increase opportunity at the K-12 level, then these programs may just start fading away. It sounds odd to say, but an African-American president may be the one thing that will result in the natural undoing of affirmative action.
Mike Clutterbuck is a sophomore majoring in economics. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
