Does Affirmative Action Make Minority Students Less Capable Or Prepared After Graduation?

February 10, 2011
Written by Wendy Innes in
"Sticky Wicket" Questions
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Minority graduates from U.S. universities.

Dear Sticky Wicket,


I feel that minorities who receive degrees from reputable white colleges and universities are not as capable or prepared as their white counterparts because of Affirmative Action. Is this a common, or accurate, perception?


~Worried Mom


Dear Worried Mom,


Affirmative Action has gotten more attention in the past decade than it has at any other time during its near 40-year existence. Many people believe that Affirmative Action is something that we no longer need in America because minorities have advanced so far. While the truthfulness of this assumption can be debated ad nauseam, when it comes to the question of whether or not minorities are getting a free educational pass because of Affirmative Action, the answer is a resounding no, they are not. If anything, the opposite is true.


All things being equal, whether a student is black, white, Latino or Asian, Affirmative Action policies will only get the students in the door. After that, it is up to the student to stay there.


Academically, the playing field is the same, no matter what color the student is. So, for example, if a black student is not as well qualified as a white student, but is admitted to Harvard based upon Affirmative Action, that student may actually have to work harder than the white student to succeed since Affirmative Action does not protect the student after their admittance to the university.


According to the Supreme Court in the 1978 landmark case, The Regents of The University of California vs. Bakke, it is legal, but not required for colleges to consider race as a factor for admission. The decision also stated that colleges could not set aside a specific number of spaces for minority students.


Minorities face a number of academic challenges from the very beginning of their educational careers.


While middle class white students should not have to apologize for their social positions, it is important to remember that things like poverty, cultural and language barriers do make it more difficult for some minorities to achieve the same levels of academic success.


It is rather uncommon for minorities graduating from reputable colleges and universities to receive negative attitudes from those around them just because they received acceptance under the school’s Affirmative Action guidelines. If the school is reputable, and the student’s academic record is sound, then employers can rest assured that regardless of race or ethnicity, he or she earned their degree just like anyone else.


However common or uncommon the perception that minorities may be getting a free pass, it is important to remember that each degree program has its own set of requirements which each student must fulfill in order to graduate. Graduation requirements at colleges and universities are color blind, and that is the way it should stay.
 

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