Written by Morgan Mullings
I have a hard time dealing with denial from a college especially because I don’t get to know why. I generally hear from friends and family that I just didn’t have what that school was looking for. However, when I get accepted or receive a scholarship, I often hear that it’s because I am black or because of Affirmative Action.
This “because I’m black” reason can also apply to Hispanics and other minorities in the college application process. Let’s get a few things straight:
Affirmative action is defined as “any measure, beyond simple termination of a discriminatory practice, adopted to correct or compensate for past or present discrimination or to prevent discrimination from recurring in the future,” according to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in 1977. This can include policies like universities making a larger effort to reach and consider minority applicants than they have in the past. What startles me is that, according to The New Yorker, polls show that a majority of more than two to one Americans oppose it.
We will never know exactly what goes on in an admissions office, but it’s evident that the process has improved greatly over time. From no education opportunities at all, to integrated schools, to actual job opportunities after college; Black people have fought through every injustice when it comes to the equal opportunity the United States so greatly promotes.
Affirmative Action does NOT mean that a minority is given privilege over a white male in the application process, as that would be reverse discrimination, and therefore not affirmative action (and probably racist). Minorities have always been at the back of the line. Now that Affirmative Action levels the playing field, many white male applicants are starting to notice and complain. Just as government officials have recognized that this upper hand in the application process as unjust, so should the applicants themselves.
Affirmative Action does NOT mean that a minority that does not meet the qualifications to be accepted will be accepted anyway just because they are a minority. If you’re not academically qualified, you won’t get in; plain and simple.
It does mean that minorities like African Americans need Affirmative Action to continue to have an equal opportunity in education and in the workforce because of how racist many American institutions used to and continue to be.
Sometimes, race quotas are placed to reduce the overpopulation of minorities and give equally qualified white males and females a better chance at acceptance — this is wrong, and top-tier universities like Harvard have recently been called out for it.
Some schools are “race-blind” in the admissions and financial aid process, to avoid any type of controversy, and studies have proven that this can lead to a more diverse school. Still, this specific concept remains under debate.
Universities cannot accept or deny somebody because of their skin color, as it has nothing to do with intelligence or ability. So no, it’s not because I’m black. I got into that school because I’m awesome. No, it’s not because I have a better chance than a white person. It’s because America’s institutions have stopped looking over me based on prejudice. And it may not be once and for all, but it’s a start.
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