<p>I am very against affirmative action; and although I suppose I’m a bit biased because of my race (I’m an Asian Indian female), I’d like to believe that it’s for good reason.</p>
<p>“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Martin Luther King’s famous speech is slowly becoming a reality in the United States, yet affirmative action is making us take a step backwards.</p>
<p>Instead of helping minorities, affirmative action just contradicts the foundations this country was built on. At a time when everybody can receive an education, it is racism—plain and simple. If all people are created equal, then why are some people being favored over others?</p>
<p>According to Senator Ben Hueso of San Diego, “Prop. 209 [which banned affirmative action in California public universities] creates a barrier for people of color to access higher education. With these prohibitions we have seen a stark reduction in access to higher education by people of color.” But the real issue is not in a reduction in access to higher education; rather, it is in the amount of resources allocated towards disadvantaged students. Many underprivileged students simply do not have the options that richer students do in their education; therefore, they do worse in school and don’t get into colleges. </p>
<p>In addition, poorer students may not be able to afford a college education if they do get in—even with financial aid. Before the banning of affirmative action, minority students accounted for 38% of high school graduates and 21% of UC freshmen. Although smaller than it is today, the gap was still sizeable; poorer, disadvantaged students simply cannot compete against richer students. Allowing those whose merit is subpar into colleges is not going to solve the problems that minorities face today.</p>
<p>Also, as a result of affirmative action, a disadvantaged Asian student would have a harder time getting into an university than a privileged Latino student. Affirmative action does not have any clauses that provide advantages to disadvantaged majorities; instead, it bases the admission of a student into a college only on their skin color—regardless of their socioeconomic status.</p>
<p>Another unintended result is an inferiority complex that could build up in the minorites who were admitted on the basis of affirmative action. They may constantly question whether they’re really supposed to be there, or whether they got into the university because of their skin color. This is unfair to both the admitted student and those who were denied as a result. In addition, the students from underrepresented minorities who generally are benefited by affirmative action already had the resources to succeed. Most of them already come from high-income families and the like.</p>
<p>Honestly, I wouldn’t have a problem if they accepted more low-income students than high-income students. That, at least, would be fair. But basing things on the color of one’s skin? That isn’t.</p>
<p>Personally, I’d rather go to a university where all students were on the same par. Yes, perhaps it wouldn’t be as diverse; but if they want underrepresented minorites to go to college, they should allocate more resources toward them.</p>