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Argumentative Essay 2150
Writing II (ENG 2150)
Baruch College CUNY
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1 Wahba Rachel Wahba Professor Collier English 2150 29 April 2019 Affirmative Action: Providing Opportunity for the Historically Disadvantaged Affirmative Action is a program designed to redress discrimination against specific groups by making special efforts to provide members of minority groups with equal access to education and employment opportunities. Implemented in the 1960s under John F. Kennedy’s presidential administration, the program was meant to equalize the opportunity for minorities to succeed in both the work and school force. Originally, the notion was accepted, because privileged Americans felt as if they were responsible for fixing the mistakes of their ancestors who discriminated against minority groups. Education and jobs are the key to success, and Affirmative Action proves to be some sort of head start in a foot race, or thumb on a scale for minorities. Instead of being expected to overcome embedded obstacles and excel despite discrimination, the historically disadvantaged should demand Affirmative Action on the part of institutions of power. For years on end, members of minority groups, specifically black men, have been shut out from receiving higher education in the United States. This is a result of blacks being persecuted, discriminated against, and not growing up with the same opportunities that privileged white males have. Theodore Cross’s article, “What If There Was No Affirmative Action in College Admissions? A Further Refinement of Our Earlier Calculations”, addresses the issue of black discrimination, and what the result of removing Affirmative Action from the college 2 Wahba admission process would do to blacks in America. He says that, “Most fair-minded people would agree that there is a strong moral case for establishing a period of university admissions that confers advantage on black people” (Cross 52). As a result of blacks being mistreated years ago, it is only fair that the United States should do something to compensate for the wrongdoings of our ancestors, and assist blacks in receiving the education that they deserve. Whether minorities are qualified or not is not the problem in question. The issue is that blacks were historically disadvantaged, and the solution to that problem is to implement a program, Affirmative Action, to correct that injustice. According to Cross, “Under strict meritbased admissions based solely on SAT scores, blacks would win only about 1 percent of all admissions to the nation’s top colleges and universities” (Cross 53). Top universities would be swarming with elite white people, but only 1 percent of the freshmen at the nation’s top colleges would be black, had Affirmative Action not been accounted for in the admission process. Although some would feel as though the blacks receiving admission to universities are not deserving, “Very large numbers of somewhat lower scoring but qualified blacks would be left without places in higher education” (Cross 55). Blacks were being denied to colleges because of their race, not because of their qualifications. Statistically, the percentage of blacks who excel on their SATs is a lot lower than whites, and the whites would overpower the admissions office, and in turn, the blacks are the ones who are left having to go to lower end schools, receiving a mediocre education. Cross records that, “Data from the Consortium on Financing Higher Education reveal the fact that the nation’s top-rated institutions are in fact admitting large numbers of black students with SAT scores that are far lower than scores of white students that these universities admit” (54). Without the tolerance of these universities 4 Wahba Judy Hopps, a member of the prey population, was only able to become a police officer because of the creation of the initiative. Without it, she would still be struggling to achieve her dreams, and would most likely end up as a farmer back home with the rest of the bunnies. So too, without Affirmative Action, minorities are restricted from receiving the opportunity to excel, forcing them to stay at their low-level jobs and education levels, far from their dreams. However, just because Judy entered the police force due to the opportunity she was given because of the Mammal Inclusion Initiative, doesn’t mean that she was treated fairly, equal to the way predator police officers were treated. After going through the same basic training that everyone else did, all the other animals were given more difficult, elite jobs, such as searching for missing animals. Judy on the other hand was given the measly task of being a meter maid. In order to prove herself to the sheriff, she had to work twice as hard as he asked her to, and even that wasn’t enough to boost her legitimacy to him. While the Mammal Inclusion Initiative was needed to bring Judy into the work force to begin with, she shouldn’t have had to deal with all the prejudice after receiving the position. Although she was qualified and well trained, citizens of Zootopia continued to discriminate against Judy for trying to fulfill her dream. Nick Wilde, a fox, tells Judy that, “You can only be what you are. Sly fox, dumb bunny. You’ll never be a real cop” (Zootopia). Affirmative Action must help those who are qualified get to a place where they no longer need to prove themselves. Judy is not just a dumb bunny, but because she was not given a chance to prove herself, that is all she is seen as. When Judy finally takes on the missing mammals case, as she is trying to ask questions to Yax the hippie Yak, he says to her, “I’m going to hit the pause button right there because we’re all good on bunny scout cookies” (Zootopia). Even while doing serious work, Judy is disregarded, because she is from a minority group. In order to ensure a more diverse, and 5 Wahba even more skilled police force, Judy should try all she can to have accommodations made to better suit her needs, just like in the real world, minorities should continue to fight for their rights and opportunities through programs like Affirmative Action. Detractors of Affirmative Action say that instead of the historically disadvantaged demanding Affirmative Action in both the higher education system and workforce, they should seek to overcome the obstacles embedded within those institutions on their own, and excel despite discrimination. They believe that the concept of Affirmative Action is reverse discrimination in practice, negatively affecting people of a superior race and gender. If there are quotas set by schools in order to ensure that a certain amount of minority students is accepted to a university, white males feel as if they are being gipped. Additionally, they support the idea that Affirmative Action destroys the notion of meritocracy. If Affirmative Action is put into play, detractors believe that undeserving candidates will be accepted, simply because they have to be accepted, not because they have a merit to receive the position. Furthermore, if these members of minority groups are accepted to a position, detractors of Affirmative Action believe that they will ultimately fail at the job or in their education, because they are not prepared for the task, after having only received a chance due to Affirmative Action. Lastly, they believe that Affirmative Action is only furthering racial inequalities, because of the need to categorize between those who require the aid of Affirmative Action and those who don’t. They argue that if minorities really wanted to be treated as equals, they would want to abolish Affirmative Action, and learn to earn their merit, not base it off of their skin color. However, what they do not consider is that America has never been, and will never be a colorblind society. The issue of Affirmative Action does not build or destroy the notions of racism, rather it does what it is meant to do, give minorities an equal chance at success in a country that formerly oppressed them. Nowhere does it mention that 7 Wahba Hopps, Zootopia). Only once the mistakes of our ancestors are acknowledged and addressed can success happen, and until then, minorities should demand Affirmative Action to their benefit. 8 Wahba Works Cited: Cross, Theodore. “What If There Was No Affirmative Action in College Admissions? A Further Refinement of Our Earlier Calculations.” The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, no. 5, 1994, pp. 52–55. JSTOR, jstor/stable/2962408. Zootopia. Directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2016.
Argumentative Essay 2150
Course: Writing II (ENG 2150)
University: Baruch College CUNY
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