In my piece "White Privilege Continues To Plague American Progress," I outlined the systematic failures responsible for the racial injustices we see in our country today. I cultivated an opinion, but more importantly, I used facts to support my opinion. It is my firm belief that this is necessary when discussing issues as sensitive and complex as modern racial disparities. In last Monday’s opinion piece criticizing affirmative action—a piece where both of the writers, I would like to point out, have white privilege—there were a lot of close-minded thoughts expressed and zero substantial solutions offered to tackle the current problems of education inequality in this country.
The article claims that, when applying to colleges, we are “defined” by our race. The fact is, however, that we are “defined” by the content of the application we all fill out, not one particular aspect of the application such as our skin color. Our university, in particular, has consistently stated that they take a holistic approach in the admissions process. Further, the article claims that students of color have to “defend their qualifications and rights to be at an elite university primarily because of the harmful assumption that affirmative action was the main reason for their admission.” Isn’t that “harmful assumption” made by white people? So the real problem comes from the ignorance of white privilege.
To make matters even worse, the only living person of color mentioned at all by the writers was Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. To reference Clarence Thomas in order to defend their viewpoint on affirmative action not only shows how little they know about him, but also how little they know about the overall idea of affirmative action. Clarence Thomas believes that the Voting Rights Act is unnecessary, that corporations are people, and that money is free speech. Clarence Thomas is an oligarch who speaks on behalf of the Koch Brothers, not African Americans. His voting record shows that he does not believe in democracy. Meanwhile, affirmative action is a reflection of our democracy because it allows more of the electorate to become well-informed citizens through equal education opportunities.
The affirmative action piece states that discrimination is taking place during the college application process. The article also states that affirmative action “is unfair to the accepted students who may not be academically prepared to succeed at the university level.” In other words, it’s “unfair” to have historically underrepresented minorities benefit from affirmative action because some “may not prepared to succeed” here, and therefore they don’t belong here.
The reality, however, is that we’ve all benefited from affirmative action. Affirmative action recognizes diversity in education, because interacting with others who are different than you is an educational experience for everyone, whether you believe it or not. Affirmative action has also provided a greater opportunity for people of color to join the middle and upper-class through obtaining college degrees. Now, if you’re an economics major, you must acknowledge this is a good thing. College education is, after all, the great equalizer.
The writers of the affirmative action piece would prefer that race be taken “out of the question” in the college application process. I completely disagree. We must acknowledge that in a country like this—where citizens come from many different races with many different struggles and experiences—what would be the point in taking race out of the question? It’s important that we have discussions on race in America; otherwise, we deny ourselves the opportunity to learn from each other. I understand that talking about race may upset some people, but I would wager that they are the same people who reject the concept of white privilege.
Despite common talking points, there are no quotas in the university admissions process. The Supreme Court already took on this argument in the case of University of California v. Bakke from 1978, which ruled that admissions quotas are unconstitutional. Hopefully my piece here will clear the air on those misleading accusations. Affirmative action is not only constitutional, but it is an American investment for a more promising future. Make no mistake: Affirmative action does not “reinforce” racial discrimination. That is a cynic’s talking point. In reality, affirmative action brings more voices to the table and promotes diversity within higher education.
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