Equality in
College Admissions
There are many people who have played an
important role in the journey to equality for all. The most notable of those
people include Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther
King Jr. Each person has played an intricate part in eliminating discrimination
and inequality in our country, however the journey is not complete and much
remains to be done to ensure equality for all. Colleges across the United
States of America are allowed to use race to determine who is admitted. Under
the front of promoting diversity in the classroom, and the fact that the
process is narrowly tailored to achieve this, minorities are given an advantage
in the admissions process. I believe that the equality that Martin Luther King
Jr. spoke of is one where people are not judged on the basis of their color,
and the college admissions process does not uphold that ideal.
Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights
activist, delivered a speech in 1963 that would become famous in the history of
civil rights and our nation. His speech spoke of a better America, one where
color would not play a factor in another person’s perception. In his speech,
King said that day would go down in history as the greatest demonstration for
freedom in the United States, and he was correct (King Jr.,
1963) .
His speech became a symbol, a challenge for what kind of society and culture we
as American people should strive for, a society of equality and fairness. King
said in his speech, “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” and I believe that is the equality he was
striving for (King Jr., 1963) . Martin Luther King,
Jr. implored for a nation that would look at people based on who they are as an
individual and not based on the color of their skin. I desire the same
equality, however I believe that by allowing race to be a factor, even a small
factor, in determining college admissions we are doing the opposite of what
King desired.
In 1963, many people still had prejudice
against minorities, especially African-Americans, and this prejudice flowed
into the schools. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream was advanced for the culture,
and programs were approved in order to bring equality to the United States.
Affirmative action, a phrase introduced by the Kennedy administration, was
intended to be a tool to ensure equal employment and educational opportunity. When
that was mandated by the president, the country was of a different culture than
today. The Civil War had long been won, but a decade later most people still
held prejudice against African-Americans, often limiting their chances at
employment, education, and even where they could do their laundry. They were
free, however they were restricted. The efforts resulted in the passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 which mandated the desegregation in public educational
institutions (Moreno, 2003) . The programs put in
place, such as affirmative action, were meant to ease the divide that still
held the nation.
While those plans were important in
bringing the country together and eliminating the divide that still held the
nation, such programs have elements that no longer seem necessary today. We no
longer live in a country where African- Americans, or any minority, are openly
restricted in how they live their life. They have the same freedoms that any
United States citizen has, yet we still deem it necessary to include race as a factor
in college admissions. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words call for a country where
individuals are judged on their character and not the color of their skin,
however today his children would be judged on the color of their skin when
applying for college.
Most colleges are allowed to use race
as a factor for admissions under the argument that this will bring a more
diverse component to the classroom. Eboni S. Nelson, associate professor at the
University of South Carolina School of Law, said “affirmative action’s ability
to successfully increase minority enrollment has been shown to improve both
white and minority students’ learning, specifically by creating a diverse
learning environment in which students are exposed to a variety of viewpoints
and experiences” (Washington, 2013) . While it is true that a variety of
viewpoints and experiences improve the learning environment, it is wrong to
assume that such variety can be achieved on the basis of race. A variety of
viewpoints and experiences can be achieved from how people were raised
differently, where they lived, where they went to school, what activities they
were involved in, or how traveled they are. Race is not the only way to gain a
viewpoint or experience.
In 1978, Justice Harry Blackmun, in
the Supreme Court’s Bakke case,
argued for affirmative action because he believes in order to get beyond
racism, we must first take account of race, that there is no other way, and
that in order to treat some persons equally we must treat them differently (Moreno, 2003) . I disagree with
that belief, and I believe that the way to treat people equally is to simply do
so. Our culture today is different than what it was in 1978, it is more open to
diversity and individuality. Of course, today’s culture is not perfect, but I
believe we are long past the days when race defines the ability of an
individual. Justice Clarence Thomas said that he believes African-Americans can
achieve in every avenue of American life without the meddling of university
administrators, and I wholeheartedly agree (Elder, 2003) . As long as the court continues to allow
colleges to use race as a factor in college admissions we have not reached
equality for all.
While many believe we will one day
come to a point where affirmative action is no longer necessary, they do not
see it as something that we can achieve currently. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
wrote “the court expects that 25 years from now the use of racial preferences
will no longer be necessary” (Elder, 2003) .
In 1963 Whitney Young, then the National Urban League President, proposed a
“Marshall Plan” which sought to eradicate ghettos and increase spending on
education, housing, vocational training and health services (Williams, 2002) . Although Young only expected “the
Plan” to last 10 years we still see its effects today, and according to Justice
Sandra Day O’Conner, should expect to for another 25 years (Elder, 2003) .
However such programs are outdated for our culture.
Our nation is no longer limited to
such closed principles that people hold the same prejudices against
African-Americans that they did in the past. The United States I know is where
opportunity is everywhere and anyone can attempt to achieve their dreams. I
believe people should not be judged on the basis of the color of their skin;
however colleges do this daily when they assume someone with white skin has
less to offer from their personal perspective or experience than someone with
colored skin. The Constitution is colorblind and the equal protection clause on
the 14th Amendment prohibits the government from treating people
differently because of race (Hannah-Jones, 2013) . This means that colleges allotting
African-American students, or any minority, extra points in the admissions
process for their race is not constitutional because they are being treated
differently because of it.
The topic of affirmative action in
college admissions is much discussed today, and I hope that such factors will
no longer exist when my future children are applying for college. I have the
same dream as Martin Luther King Jr., I hope that people will be judged not on
the color of their skin but on their character. A person has no choice in what
color skin they are born with, including people with white skin. Colleges
should admit people based on their academic achievements and their
extracurricular activities, and essentially the content of their character,
rather than letting race play a role in the process. What remains to be done
today to ensure equality for all and to eliminate discrimination is to change
the college admissions process to no longer allow race to be a factor.
References
Elder, L. (2003, July 3). Larry Elder:
Columnists: Townhall. Retrieved from Townhall:
http://townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/2003/07/03/colorblindness_rejected_by_the_supreme_court/page/full/
Hannah-Jones, N. (2013, March 18). A
Colorblind Constitution: Articles: ProPublica. Retrieved from ProPublica:
http://www.propublica.org/article/a-colorblind-constitution-what-abigail-fishers-affirmative-action-case-is-r
King Jr., M. L. (1963). Dream Speech:
Exhibits: Press: National Archives . Retrieved from National Archives:
http://www.archives.gov/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf
Moreno, P. B. (2003). The History of
Affirmative Action Law and Its Relation to College Admission. Journal of
College Admission, 14-21.
Washington, A. T. (2013, April 24). The
Race Question. Chronicle Of Higher Education, pp. 44-48.
Williams, R. (2002, February 1). News
Article: News: U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved from U.S. Department
of Defense: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=43988
