Affirmative Action Evaluation

Minorities, We Owe You One

Discrimination can easily be defined as unfair treatment of one person or group, usually because of prejudice about race, ethnic group, age group, religion, or gender. Civil rights movements, to stop discrimination and ensure equality between minorities and the dominant white male populace, have occurred for decades. Historically women and other minorities have experienced difficulties in gaining employment and admission into universities over their white male competitors. As time passed and the battle for equality became more and more evident federal action was taken to force this desired equality, affirmative action. Affirmative action by definition is a policy or program aimed at countering discrimination against minorities and women, especially in employment and education. Since its inception, affirmative action has created a world of controversy in our culture; a controversy that questions the equality in relation work ethic and academic integrity, factors which once determined acceptance. Affirmative action is by far the most influential aspect of today's collegiate demographics; outweighing standardized testing, extra-curricular involvement, and in some instances GPAs. When does an anti-discriminatory practice become discrimination against the majority?

Affirmative action currently controls many aspects of today's society. With the concept of diversity being constantly sought by businesses and area of academia, one could see how affirmative action can be truly desired. Today's businesses pride themselves on their diverse employee base, flaunting their diversity policies throughout their respective websites and other related media. Academically many colleges apply affirmative action to the delicate process of student admissions. For years students work to become the most appealing applicant to their desired university, performing well in school, participating in extra-curricular activities, and volunteering throughout their communities, simply to impress a single admissions officer. With affirmative action in place, all the hard work done by prospective students can amount to absolutely nothing, as race could tip the scale between two similar students. This

"decision-making" procedure creates opposition in response to the question of civil rights in relation to reverse discrimination, discrimination which falls on those who are seen as the majority.

In past and current battles for civil rights multiple groups have arose in opposition to the injustices of society. Unfair treatment of women throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries prompted a strong reaction from the female public. Speeches, large public demonstrations, and protests were just some of the actions taken by women's rights group to support their cause. Years before African-American rights were questioned as segregation became an everyday part of life. But with the actions of people like Homer Aldoph Plessy, who stood up for his beliefs of racial equality in one of the most influential court cases of all time, changes were made in the treatment of African-Americans. Similar to discrimination in the past, reverse discrimination should and has been addressed in some aspects.

In the collegiate environment many strides have been made in order to

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