Affirmative Action 1

Running Head: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

Affirmative Action as a Means to Racial Diversity

Brad Miller

The George Washington University

EDUC 283/Opinion Paper 3

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Affirmative Action as a Means to Racial Diversity

On November 7th, 2006 residents of Michigan voted in support of Proposal 2, an

amendment to ban the use of affirmative action as a way to promote diversity. This

comes after the 2003 Supreme Court case which granted universities the right to use race

as a factor in the admissions decision (Schmidt 2006). It is my belief that universities

have an obligation to use affirmative action as a way to promote diversity. In this

paper I will share why universities are obligated to use affirmative action to increase

minority student enrollment. A diverse college campus improves the level of education

that students receive. I will share how colleges are obligated to create a diverse student

body to reflect the world students will encounter after graduation.

The United States has a diverse population of various ethnicities, religions and

socioeconomic backgrounds. College campuses seldom reflect this great diversity as

universities become out of reach for minority students (Fischer 2006). While the over all

population of minority students in higher education has improved, it remains significantly

lower than the number of white students (Porter 2006). One method of increasing

diversity within higher education is to include affirmative action in admissions related

decisions. Using affirmative action gives race added importance when considering

applicants, thereby making diversity a top priority and increasing minority enrollment.

Affirmative action ensures that underrepresented populations will be given equal

consideration, something society often neglects to offer them.

Higher education is obligated to use affirmative action because of the educational

benefits that come with increased diversity. Promoting diversity within higher education

creates an effective learning environment (Alger 2005). Part of the reason for the
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Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling was their understanding of the educational benefit of a

diverse student body both in and out of the classroom (Alger 2005). Students in a diverse

classroom are often hesitant to voice their stereotypes about others. Instead of saying the

first thought that comes to mind, students in a diverse class setting first give adequate

reflection to their statements. This improves class discussions and promotes an effective

learning environment (Tarbox 2000). Racial diversity often brings with it diversity in

thoughts, opinions and life experiences. These attributes can translate to more effective

conversations within the classroom and life changing friendships in the dormitory. By

increasing diversity, colleges are able to improve the level of education.

Many students enroll in college from segregated high schools, limiting their

interactions with racial diversity (Tatum 2003). Because of the lack of inter-racial

encounters at the high school level, students form inaccurate stereotypes about different

races. Often, just by interacting with someone of a different race, students are able to

break down their prejudices. The college experience has the potential for students to live

and learn with other races with whom they would not normally interact. If colleges do

not create a diverse environment for students to learn about other races they fail at their

responsibility to educate students to live in a diverse world (Tatum 2004). By creating a

diverse student body through affirmative action, colleges provide the environment to

challenge prejudice, bigotry and racial ignorance.

Ethnic minorities are underrepresented in college student enrollment numbers.

For example, only 7 percent of Latino students are enrolled in four year colleges while at

the same time Latinos represent the United States’ largest and fastest growing group of

ethnic minorities (Stavans 2006). If colleges seek to prepare students for future careers
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they must create an environment that reflects the realities of our diverse country. A

diverse student body can help students understand how to live, work and exist in a

diverse world (Alger 2005). Students that study on a homogeneous campus sometimes

struggle to understand their future diverse places of employment. Thus, colleges have an

obligation to provide a diverse student body to ensure graduates are adequately prepared

for future encounters with diversity.

For the reasons I have mentioned, racial diversity on the college campus is

important. Diversity in education has had ongoing conversations through the years, some

of which led Supreme Court cases. In the 1954 case, Brown vs. the Board of Education,

the court stated that public schools could not be racially segregated and every student,

regardless of race, had the right to attend the public school of their choice (Brown et al.

1954). Twenty four years later, in Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke, the

court confirmed that while colleges could not have a quota of how many minorities to

admit, they could give added consideration to race in the admittance decision (Schmidt

2006). Finally, in 2003, the Supreme Court upheld that colleges could use race in the

admittance decision as long as each applicant was given equal consideration (Selingo

2005). As part of their statement in the 2003 case, the Supreme Court admitted that

inequality still exists within higher education (Selingo 2005). My hope is that if we use

affirmative action now, it will no longer be necessary in the future as all populations will

be given equal consideration. When the residents of Michigan voted to ban the use of

affirmative action on November 7th, 2006, they forced higher education to take a step

back in the quest for equality.

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In conclusion, it is my belief that higher education has an obligation to use

affirmative action as a means to promoting diversity. College enrollments seldom mirror

the diverse citizens that make up the American population. By using affirmative action,

added importance is given to promoting diversity. When diversity is promoted the level

of education improves and students are better prepared to function in a diverse

workplace. The journey toward educational access will not be complete until every

member of the population is given equal consideration. Affirmative action is a means

toward that equality.

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References

Alger, Jonathan, (2005). Putting Michigan into practice [Electronic Version]. The

chronicle of higher education, 51, B28.

Brown et al. v. board of education of Topeka, Kansas, et al., 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

Fischer, Karin, (2006). Flagship universities short on minority and low-income students,

report says [Electronic Version]. The chronicle of higher education, 53, A18.

Porter, Jane, (2006). Minority-student enrollment climbs [Electronic Version]. The

chronicle of higher education, 12, A39.

Schmidt, Peter, (2006). After supreme court rulings on race: silence [Electronic Version].

The chronicle of higher education, 37, A21.

Schmidt, Peter, (2006). College groups urge justices to uphold school admissions based

on race [Electronic Version]. The chronicle of higher education, 9, A34.

Selingo, Jeffrey, (2005). Michigan, who really won? [Electronic Version]. The chronicle

of higher education, 19, A21.

Stavans, Ilan, (2006). How elite universities fail latino students [Electronic Version]. The

chronicle of higher education, 20, B20.

Tarbox, Gwen Athene, (2000, August 11). Will diversity improve education or ‘dumb’

colleges down instead? [Letter to the editor]. The chronicle of higher education,

p. B3.

Tatum, Beverly Ann, (2004). Building a road to diversity [Electronic Version]. The

chronicle of higher education, 30, B6.