To be, or not to be, that is the question.

Supreme Court Upholds Michigan’s Affirmative Action Ban

Diana Patricia Gutiérrez López

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The Supreme Court decided today to ban the Affirmative Action policies on public universities and seven other states decided to take similar actions. This showed divisions amongst political groups about which path to follow towards protecting racial and ethnic minorities. States who have previously forbidden Affirmative Action on their admission procedures have seen a drop of enrollment on blacks and Hispanics.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/us/supreme-court-michigan-affirmative-action-ban.html?hp&_r=0 

Nowadays, I think banning the Affirmative Action policies is a good measure since it is a form of discrimination towards the people who are not in the minorities. What happens to people who have good grades, good extra curricular achievements who have been set aside to give the chance to black and Hispanics and other groups? A long time ago, when education wasn’t as accessible to all the people in America it seemed like a good idea to give them an opportunity to enter a high-level education institution. Now, with public education being established on a common standard and these people also having access to the Internet, the level of competition should arise. Students throughout the country, who actually want to study and make their way through, should have to work for it as any other person. It is not fair to argue about these being discriminatory actions, since it is already a form of discrimination in itself; by handpicking and separating minorities, they are alienating themselves.

People will argue that other people with money are going to be the ones that have the easy access. I do not think this is fair either. I think students should prove themselves, prove they are the best of the best and can accomplish more than any other candidate aspiring for a place at an university. I am probably not being congruent since am I not the one to talk, but I do think competition is what fuels society.

Gender quotas come into my mind as another example of discrimination and minorities. There can be several reasons why women are not as active in politics as men are or there could be not and, by setting a number of female candidates to be filled as a requirement is not an egalitarian act.

If they wish to use the equality card, they are mistaken. It is not parity when you are making distinctions. Everyone should reach intended heights by their own merits.

Conclusion:

I understand that these methods will cause some discomfort on the people who believe they do not stand a chance to people who have money and power but this is actually a great opportunity. If there is so much demand for higher education, this should give the government enough incentives to open new institutions, to create jobs, to promote the flow of more skilled people through the nation and implement new and better policies. In short terms, maybe this does not seem like the best social strategy but then again, we are talking about the United States. Everything is a competition; everything is about overachieving, about innovation, about consumerism and about the survival of the fittest.