Affirmative Action
...ue. The problem is that by adopting the policy, the organization is promoting discrimination as well as harming the minority. Because the policy is race based, it keeps America from evolving into the color-blind society where people are judged solely on ability. “Affirmative action is a system of racial preferences and quotas that deny opportunity to individuals solely because they are not members of a preferred race or ethnic group” (Grapes, 38). In result, many are out of a job or an opportunity simply because they are not racially qualified. In fact, racial qualification is the reason this argument began. Social injustice exists because of the notion of qualifying by race. If one opposes social injustice, they cannot support affirmative action. Not only does affirmative action sponsor a color-conscience culture, it also promotes a form of discrimination. By granting individual groups special treatment on the basis of skin color or sex, it identifies racial distinctions and advances prejudice. The programs give blacks the idea that they can blame their failure on whites. It also excuses blacks from the expectations of others. These preferences are really just government-endorsed discrimination and must be overthrown. It is also factual that “the action” harms minority students. “In the past, affirmative action programs often placed good, but ill-prepared, minority students in elite schools for the sake of diversity. These students, who were capable of excelling at good colleges, were transformed into failures by being placed in high-pressure schools where only the most exemplary students can succeed” (Grapes, 51). Without affirmative action these students could have been a great success in another college that fit the strength of their ability. It is evident that affirmative action has failed in many different ways over the years. In order to become effective the policy needs to be reformed in one way or another. One possibility would be to change the basis that affirmative action lies on. Instead of basing it on the population census they should base it on the interest in the school, business, or organization. This means that the percentages of acceptances should be corresponding to the percentages of interest. For instance, if a school has little interest from the minority then it should not have to comply with the percentages of the general population, but rather base it’s acceptance on the percentage of interest within the groups. Another possibility for reform is one that focuses mainly on colleges and universities. Instead of basing the number of accepted students into a certain school on their gender or race it should be based on their social status. “Because a disproportionate number of minority students live in poverty, an affirmative action program based on class instead of race would be able to maintain acceptable levels of diversity within universities without resorting to racial quotas” (Grapes, 59). Under this policy disadvantaged students of all races would receive an equal opportunity and diversity would still be present. Although some people may think that the use of affirmative action is a great way to ensure equality for all people the best solution seems to eliminate the policy altogether. Basing acceptance on race or gender is always a form of discrimination even if the intention is to benefit a certain group....