My Thoughts on Affirmative Action, and the Impact it can have on My College Application

My definition for affirmative action is preferential treatment towards minorities. There are two types of discrimination, positive discrimination and reverse discrimination. Positive discrimination is to choose someone because of their race or sex. Reverse discrimination is to discriminate against a majority group. Affirmative action falls under both types of discrimination. It falls under positive discrimination because it provides many opportunities for a minority just because of their race or sex. But it also falls under reverse discrimination because  if an African American or a Hispanic student applies to a college at the same time that a white student applies to a college, the African American or Hispanic student is more likely to be chosen just because of their race. Even if the African American or Hispanic student has a lower grade point average and ACT or SAT score, it is more likely for them to be chosen than the white student that applied.

So far, I haven't taken a side on the debate concerning affirmative action. There a points on both sides of the debate that I find reasonable.
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The points that I agree with for supporting affirmative action is as follows:

• Allows diversity on university campus and work place.
• Organizations that are more diverse make better decisions because they have to keep in mind a wider variety of people.
• Diversity improves improves learning opportunities, because students are exposed to wider range of ideas.

The points that i agree with against affirmative action:\

• It is reverse discrimination against whites.
• Stigmatizes minorities, and characterizes them as being in need of special treatment.
• Puts minorities in situations where they may fail, and encourages them to view themselves as victims, therefore preventing them from reaching their full potential.

Who Benifits From Affirmative Action?

Affirmative action affects three major areas, all of which have significant influence on the relative success of businesses, large and small: education, employment, and public contracting. Affirmative action is intended to ensure that opportunities in these three areas are equal for all people regardless of race or gender by setting goals and timetables in instances where significant inequities exist. Small businesses are especially able to benefit from the impact of affirmative action programs because they can take advantage of the results in these three areas, and generally don't have to comply with the same regulations that apply to government agencies, academic institutions, and large companies.

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

          Recently in Oklahoma and in the United States in general, there has been uproar concerning affirmative action. Affirmative action is a policy that prevents discrimination, and allows equal opportunities in employment and education for women and minorities. Banning affirmative action would cause an even bigger uproar throughout the states. Not only would it put an end to the fight against racism, but it would also put an end to the diversity in the workplace environment and on university campuses. If affirmative action were to be banned, a majority of the minorities who were benefiting from it would suffer greatly.

                                                                           Sincerely,                                                                                       A Concerned American  

State Representatives and Senators on Affirmative Action

As of now, the Oklahoma House of Representatives has approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would eliminate affirmative action in state government. It had already passed the Senate and will go to a vote of the people next year.

Rep. T.W. Shannon says,

“I believe discrimination exists, I don’t think affirmative action has been as successful as we like to believe.”

Rep. Sally Kern says,

“We have a high percentage of blacks in prison, and that’s tragic, but are they in prison just because they are black or because they don’t want to study as hard in school? I’ve taught school, and I saw a lot of people of color who didn’t study hard because they said the government would take care of them.”

President Obama supports affirmative action but questions its effectiveness. When addressed on the topic he says,

"Diversity enriches education. As America grows more diverse, it is essential that students be exposed to diversity in all its forms and learn how to effectively communicate, collaborate, and compete with people of all backgrounds."

My Thoughts: In Representative Shannon's eyes, affirmative action has failed. But he himself has failed to see how much good affirmative action has done to the minority in Oklahoma. Rep . Sally Kern undermines women and colored people by saying that they either do not work hard enough or that women usually spend most of their time at home. In my opinion she comes off as a racist person by saying that minorities do not earn equal pay because they are not hard-workers, and have less initiative.

Has Media Coverage Influenced Government Policies?

In the past, media coverage has had some sort of effect on race-based policy decisions. The news exposure affected the relevance and weight of factors taken into consideration when making policy determinations. The use of media increases the weight of the already existing "ideological orientation", and can have played a part in the policy decisions. Due to media coverage, greater opposition to affirmative action policies was reported.

My Thoughts: In my opinion, media coverage has influenced government policies. Media always plays a role in making decisions, especially ones that affect a majority of citizens living in the United States. Due to media coverage on affirmative action, I believe that the decision on the matter will not be the same as it would have been if there was not so much media coverage on the topic. My reasoning for that is that in most cases in which a lot of media coverage is involved, a lot of activists and local citizens tend to get involved in the situation. Once local citizens and activists get involved, government officials have to come up with a solution that makes everyone happy in a way that benefits everyone.

Media and Affirmative Action

As the conflict on affirmative action began to rise, protests also began to rise. Groups were created, blogs were written, and media was of course involved. Alot of media coverage has been dedicated to affirmative action. A lot of news websites have dedicated a certain part of the website to inform the citizens of the status, and the curremt news on affirmative action and other civil rights activities.

• http://www.usnews.com/topics/subjects/affirmative_action - This website tells us about the latest news about affirmative action. It includes articles and blogs about affirmative action published by U.S. News & World Report.


• http://www.seattletimescompany.com/communication/momentum/timeline.htm - This website provides a timeline including all important events that have occured in the United States (including affirmative action).


• http://www.affirmativeaction.org/news.html - This website is dedicated to the promotion of affirmative action. The indicated website shows all articles or news related to affirmative action provided from 2007-2011.


• http://www.discourses.org/OldBooks/Teun%20A%20van%20Dijk%20-%20Racism%20and%20the%20Press.pdf - The indicated website is a PDF file of a book called "Racism and the Press". The book contains information about media coverage on affirmative action and other civil rights activities.

What Citizen Websites or Groups Have Been Created to discuss Affirmative Action?

Affirmative action has become an issue in America. Many citizens have created websites or groups so show either their support or their disapproval of the banning of affirmative action. Below is a list of websites or organizations that have been created due to the current uproar on affirmative action:

• http://www.bamn.com/ - BAMN is a coalation to defend affirmative action, integration, and immigrant rights. It also fights for equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN).

• http://www.affirmativeaction.org/about.html

• http://www.ethnicmajority.com/affirmative_action.htm - Ethnic Majority is a website whose purpose is to empower people of colored skin to make a difference in America.