Running head: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 1

Affirmative Action

Amy Yang

Western Illinois University

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 2

History of Affirmative Action

During the Civil Rights Movement, many individuals, such as Martin Luther King Jr.,

advocated for social justice (Thelin, 2011). Historically, because minorities, specifically Blacks,

were heavily discriminated against and segregated from Whites, employment for the Black

population was skewed. To attempt to eliminate this issue and advocate for minorities,

affirmative action was issued. Affirmative action was introduced to the United States when

President Kennedy proposed and implemented the Executive Order Number 10925 (The

Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights, 2016). One of the main purposes and intent

behind creating affirmative action was to provide employment opportunities for minorities.

More importantly, this was supposed to prohibit employers from discriminating against race

when hiring new employees. In 1967, this order was amended, and it stated that along with race,

employers could not discriminate against the sex of employees. This amendment was meant to

fight against organizations or companies that discriminated against women. A few years later,

because veterans came back from the military, affirmative action was amended again to include

individuals with disability.

On the other hand, because employment opportunities aligned with education and

education aligned with employment opportunities, affirmative action was used for higher

education later on as well (The Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights, 2016). In

addition, the idea of having a diverse student campus became valued and important. All of these

factors impacted higher education, and so admissions started to take race into consideration to

admit students in. As a result, universities and colleges started to have a more diverse student

body enrolled at their institution (Thelin, 2011). Although the student population was slowly

becoming more diverse at various institutions due to affirmative action, students of color were
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 3

still discriminated against on campus. For example, Black students were still segregated from

White students in residence halls and in classrooms even though they were admitted into the

institution. As affirmative action dived into higher education, problems and concerns were

raised. In 1978, Allan Bakke sued the University of California when he was denied admission to

the medical school at that institution because of affirmative action (McBride, 2006). Due to

affirmative action, admissions reserved 16 seats for minorities to be admitted to the medical

program. As a result, Bakke argued that although he met the admission testing standards, he was

discriminated against because he was White. This Supreme Court case created turmoil and

questioned whether affirmative action should be permitted. Even today, affirmative action

continues to be a very controversial issue.

Opposing Viewpoints

There are various perspectives that argue for or against affirmative action. In 2003, there

was another upheaval. Fisher was denied student enrollment at the University of Texas, and she

sued the institution stating that she was not admitted due to her White race (Affirmative Action,

2015). With that case, Horace Cooper, the co-chair of Project 21, presented his position in

AriseTVs debate segment (National Center for Public Policy Research, 2013). He argued that

affirmative action was discriminating against Whites because seats are reserved for specific

races. This idea is called reverse discrimination, where Whites are penalized due to what their

ancestors have done in the past (Affirmative Action, 2015). Cooper stated that affirmative action

is doing the opposite to bring racial justice. Within the same debate segment, George B.

Washington, who is Michigans Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, opposed Coopers

viewpoint (National Center for Public Policy Research, 2013). Washington argued that

affirmative action needs to stay in place to reserve seats for minorities because of White
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 4

privilege and the legacies created from it. Today, there is still racial discrimination that occurs in

the United States and society. However, the racial discrimination may not be as explicit as the

past. Therefore, the racial biases or stereotypes society has unconsciously or consciously

influence the hiring or admitting process for individuals. Hence, it may be necessary to maintain

and use affirmative action when considering employment and admission.

Faculty and Academic Affairs

One faculty that came to my mind was my instructor I had during my undergraduate

experience. Her course was on race and the family. From my undergraduate experience, this

course was by far one of the best courses I have taken. It was impactful and meaningful because

she used history to explain race, discrimination, and disparities in the United States. More

importantly, she aligned what we learned in class to current issues. Since this instructor was a

social justice advocate as well as an instructor who had knowledge about the United States

history, she was adamant about preserving affirmative action. As a result, if she were to work

collaboratively with student affairs professionals on this issue, it may not be a challenge. I think

many student affair professionals value social justice and advocate for social justice. Hence,

because this instructor shares similar viewpoints, she would be willing to work with the student

affairs professionals. Perhaps, the only challenge that could occur would be if the student affairs

professional were against affirmative action. In that case, seeking an understanding from each

party may have to occur for collaboration to happen. Although this may be huge barrier, if the

instructor truly values students, then that could be a factor to motivate and encourage her to seek

an understanding from someones whose view is different from her. This is important because

some students may strongly believe that affirmative action should not be permitted. As an

instructor, if she believes that she should assist students and help them learn, then she may be
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 5

more willing to communicate with student affair professionals. This may help both parties learn

from one another, and ultimately, may help students gain a better understanding of her

perspective.

Similarly, if I do not share the same opinion on affirmative action with some faculties,

then I would use communication as a strategy to initiate collaboration with them. There could be

various ways to communicate and gain an understanding from each other. I could email the

faculty with my viewpoints and arguments. In addition, I could also go to the facultys office

hours to engage in one-on-one and follow-up meetings. When communicating with faculty who

do not share the same perspective on an issue as I do, it would be important to provide

information on history, research, and current news for the faculty. These resources could help

the faculty see where I am coming from.

Conclusion

Affirmative action is a very controversial topic that is still debated today. I found it

interesting while completing this assignment that a lot of the sources I found seemed to be

against affirmative action. I had to dig a little bit deeper to find resources that seemed to be

objective. With all of that said, it made me wonder, What does this mean, and what is the

media trying to present to society? I do not completely know my position in this issue.

However, if I were to make a decision, I support affirmative action more than I would be against

it. Affirmative action was put in place to help give access and opportunities for specific

populations that have been consistently oppressed. Although employers and institutions are not

supposed to segregate or discriminate against racial minorities today, how do we know if this is

completely the truth? In regards to working with faculties who do not share the same view as I

do, communication would be key to educate and learn from each other.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 6

References

Affirmative Action. (2015). In Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale. Retrieved

from http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?

failOverType=&query=&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-

query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHig

hlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e

&catId=GALE%7C00000000LVUX&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7C

PC3010999135&source=Bookmark&u=westerniul&jsid=e0ca2767fbe58b8c961deca102

9867e0

McBride, Alex. (December 2006). Regents of University of California v. Bakke PBS. Retrieved

from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_regents.html

National Center for Public Policy Research. (2013, March 29). Affirmative Action "Creates More

Racial Injustice" [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=TquKLF0sT54

The Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights. (2016). Affirmative Action. Retrieved

from http://www.civilrights.org/resources/civilrights101/affirmaction.html

Thelin, John R. (2011). A history of American higher education (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: The

Johns Hopkins University Press.