<p>hmm it was interesting to watch pages and pages of AA debate to unfold. </p>
<p>^TODAY, AA still exist because racial diversity, as a facet of general diversity, is considered valuable and a compelling societal interest by the majority of Americans, the supreme court, and 24 of the top 25 colleges in the nation. </p>
<p>Because all applicants admitted to colleges practicing AA are qualified, including the minority students, all notions of “more qualified” are irrelevant. The most qualified are those most fit to round out a schools student body. </p>
<p>Practically, urms, specifically African Americans, receive the largest increase in income from attending an elite school. This increase is even greater than the benefit to low-income students. </p>
<p>On the grounds of racial discrimination, yes, their is institutional bias against blacks and hispanics in the K-12 education system. This is no longer the rationale behind AA officially, but it does, in addition to a difference in culture inflicted by the institutional racism of society, explain why the achievement gap exists. An example of this bias is the increased filtering of minorities into lower track classes, when they could have benefitted from taking gifted/honors/AP classes. You can look up a study they performed that showed when African Americans were encouraged to attempt AP classes, they did better academically then those who were not. </p>
<p>It is important to note that race is not being used as a proxy for socioeconomic status, as the achievement gap supersedes economic brackets. In fact, Asians from the lowest income bracket score on average better on the SAT than African Americans from the highest income bracket. </p>
<p>The key difference between African Americans and other groups that have faced discrimination and succeeded such as Asians and Jews is the self selection of the latter pools. Asian and Jewish immigrant were, on average, among the most motivated, skillful, and accomplished in their home countries. Many Asian immigrants who work low-income jobs here were doctors in their home country. African Americans on the other hand…well, you know the history. In addition, African Americans had a culture forced upon them of racism and discrimination, the effects of which are still seen today. </p>
<p>Much of the changes have to occur internally within the black community, but society has a duty to facilitate those changes. Once again, this is no longer the rationale behind AA. </p>
<p>Finally, college is an opportunity, not a reward. There is no “second place” getting in over “first place”. A school builds a class based around its values, apply to schools that fit yours.</p>