<p>Affirmative Action. It's controversial, and continues to rise in popularity with the rapid decrease in college acceptance rates. According to Wikipedia, Affirmative Action is "the impetus is to redress the disadvantages associated with overt historical discrimination." </p>
<p>"African-American applicants receive the equivalent of 230 extra SAT points (on a 1600-point scale), and being Hispanic is worth an additional 185 SAT points. Asian-American applicants face a loss equivalent to 50 SAT points." (Chung & Espenshade, 2005)</p>
<p>The statistics above make one thing fairly obvious for sure, and that is Affirmative Action is blatantly racist. Affirmative Action assumes that all African American or Hispanic applicants are underprivileged and belong to families with incomes below the poverty line, and did not have the same opportunities as their peers. This does not take into account individual hardships that may not be restricted to a person's race. Additionally, this undermines any hardships faced by an Asian or a White applicant. Affirmative Action implies that there are no Asian or White families that could possibly be under the poverty line. Of course, all White and Asian people are rich and live in good crime-free neighborhoods. And also, of course there are no well-off African Americans or Hispanics besides Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Lopez, right? </p>
<p>It is not unheard of for an Asian student with excellent credentials to be rejected from the same university that would accept a non-Asian candidate with the same or similar credentials. Due to Affirmative Action policies, thousands of Asian and White applicants get turned away from schools which they are qualified or even over-qualified for, based on an unsaid quota. As a result, less qualified students are given admission determined by their race, and not their merit. Yes, competitive colleges are looking for students that have good credentials in extracurriculars as well, but this does not mean that Asian and White students lack these traits. This also does not mean that Hispanic and African American students are necessarily well-rounded.</p>
<p>Arguments that the Asian culture enforces an academic oriented focus on children does not invalidate the fact that these Asian students still had to devote hard work into preparing themselves for college. It is unfair that their credentials are often chalked up to simply "being Asian." On the other hand, Affirmative Action is also offensive to African American or Hispanic students at competitive institutions. An unwanted bias is created that these students were admitted to the university based solely on Affirmative Action. There is a negative stigma that these students had lower SAT scores or qualifications than their peers, and this often is not the case, and is untrue for many African American or Hispanic students that have credentials on par of those of their Asian or White counterparts. Affirmative Action should be based on an individual's personal experiences and family income level, not on their race, which beyond their control.</p>
<p>Affirmative Action has greater consequences than most people realize. Individuals that attend elite institutions are exposed to far more opportunities than students at other colleges. For example, students at Ivy League universities have more access to highly coveted positions due to connections and the name brand of the institution. This is not to say that students at other colleges do not have these opportunities, but the number of wealthy and successful alumni of each elite institution compared to that of other colleges speaks for itself. Society's expectations of the graduates of elite colleges are much higher, and thus, are likely to be given more responsibility. Can you imagine if this responsibility were to fall into the hands of an under-qualified applicant, while someone who should have been in their place could be contributing more to society, but is unable to do so due to the "virtues" Affirmative Action?</p>
<p>A final word for the advocates of Affirmative Action. Should we allow some grace for Asians in the Olympics? After all, isn't it popularly conceived that they are too busy studying Math to play sports, and maybe a 5 second head-start in the 400 meter wouldn't be so bad. This is essentially the same effect that Affirmative Action is trying to achieve. Is Eminem's fame and success due to an Affirmative Action policy in the rap music industry? Didn't think so.</p>