Advanced English II: Social Criticism Essay.
The fourteenth amendment to the constitution guarantees equal rights to all people regardless of things such as our gender, religion, age, or race; how, then, is it lawful for colleges to determine who may attend their school based on skin color? Shouldn't college admissions depend on grades and intelligence and shouldn't race be irrelevant? Evidently the Supreme Court doesn't think so. .
The Supreme Court has egregiously upheld affirmative action stating that "diversity is a compelling interest in higher education, and that race is one of a number of factors that can be taken into account to achieve the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body." (Chronology of) So basically they"re saying that the only way to get minorities into college is to give them an advantage. Do minorities really need a handicap to earn college acceptance? Aren't there both intelligent and witless people in all races? In fact, isn't it racist to assume that a minority is incapable of gaining college admission on their own? That is why the idea of affirmative action is completely illogical. .
Affirmative action is not only illogical, but it is also unfair. Colleges decide admission based on how many of the possible 150 points you have. In addition to GPA and achievement tests, students can score points for things like being a resident of the state in which the college is located, being related to an alumni of that school, having won a competition, or being a scholarship athlete. Applicants could have received 1st place in the country in a math competition, have an "outstanding essay", be a resident of the state where the college is located, and have two grandparents who attended that college, or they could get the same amount of points just by being a minority (what an achievement). (Mears) That is how much being a minority can help one get into college.