discrimination, as their past ancestors. How can we punish someone for.
what they had no control? Our white society today did not commit the.
wrongs that were committed a generation ago. We should not punish them,.
but rather treat everyone fairly. We should treat everyone as Americans. .
As Bakke quotes the Constitution, ".The guarantees of the Fourteenth.
Amendment extend to all persons. It's language is explicit: "No State.
shall. deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection.
of the laws." It is settled beyond question that the rights created by.
the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment are, by its terms,.
guaranteed to the individual." (Bakke, p.485) In the past, we were.
fighting to abolish racial separation, but today, we have affirmative.
action, which still brings about the separation of the different races. .
We should fight for equality for all. Affirmative action affects.
everyone, including our children. Under the affirmative action law, our.
schools are currently recruiting students according to race and color. .
According to a critic on affirmative action, "A college board survey,.
described in Andrew Hacker's Two Nations, in 1992 the average combined SAT.
score for black students whose parents earn more than $70,000 a year was.
854, which was twenty-five points lower than the average SAT for white.
students whose parents earn less than $20,000 a year." (Rosen, p.3) In.
effect, the solution by supporters of affirmative action is to lower the.
school's standards so that they can accept a more diverse group of.
students. This solution is ridiculous, simply because everyone has a.
chance to do good. It is just a matter of effort. If a student is.
spoiled, and does not realize how important an education is, he will not.
study as hard as someone who has been brought up with education as their.
number one goal. Family incomes have less to do with SAT scores than the.
efforts students put into their studies.