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Tina Vartanian John Kubler English 114A 14 September 2013 Affirmative Action In addressing the question of whether Abigail Fisher should be denied admission to the University of Texas based on her racial identity, a controversial topic arises. After hearing Thursdays debate, my feelings on the issue are mixed. I do support the universities policy for affirmative action because it allows minorities a chance for a better life, but I find that it also causes ...reverse discrimination to other students such as Abigail (Bullet Points Pros and Cons 1). Opponents of affirmative action argue that it ...causes a form of reverse discrimination by favoring one group over another, based on racial preference rather than academic achievement (Affirmative Action: Overview 1). Students like Abigail Fisher are given the short end of the stick because universities are looking for diversity rather than students who truly deserve to attend the school. I agree that diversity in a student body is educationally valuable, because it allows different cultures to learn and communicate with different people. Although a diverse student body has a positive effect on the school, students that are accepted based on their racial identity rather than their merits have a greater chance of failing or dropping out. What I mean by this is that ... Affirmative action lowers standards of accountability needed to push students or employees to perform better (Bullet Points Pros and Cons 1). A student that does not have the educational background needed to succeed at a high level university is obviously going to struggle and fall behind in their studies.

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On the other hand, supporters of affirmative action argue that these programs allow minorities to get a higher education and better jobs. Statistics show that after Texas abolished its affirmative programs in 1996, Rice University's freshman class had 46 percent fewer African Americans and 22 percent fewer Hispanic students (Affirmative Action: Overview 1). In the article The Positive Educational Effects of Racial Diversity on Campus author Mitchell I. Chang provides studies that suggested that ...campuses where diversity has flourished, largely through the impact of affirmative action, confer significant educational benefits on their students (10).

In all, I am still of two minds. I understand both arguments in regards to affirmative action. I agree affirmative action does resemble discrimination in some ways yet it benefits minorities as well our society as a whole. In response to the initial question, Should Abigail Fisher be denied admission to the University of Texas based on her racial identity?, I would have to say there is not a simple yes or no answer because the conclusion effects both sides.