Affirmative Action

            "Affirmative action is an important tool to provide individuals with equal access to educational and professional opportunities they would otherwise have been denied despite their strong qualification. These policies make certain that all Americans are considered fairly and equally for jobs and educational opportunities." Affirmative action hopes to remedy past discriminatory practices, fight present-day prejudice, and strives to promote diversity in society.
             However, as of recent, this policy has come under great fire. Senator Dole introduced S. 1085(Rep. Charles Canady of Florida also proposed this bill), a bill known as "Equal Opportunity Act of 1995" which would make all forms of affirmative action undertaken by the federal government on the basis of race, color, national origin, and gender unlawful. It would also prohibit federal civil rights enforcement agencies from seeking or agreeing to administrative or judicial orders prescribing affirmative action to remedy proven instances of discrimination that violate federal law or the constitution. However, neither the House or the Senate have progressed on the Dole- Canady bills, but Senator Phil Gram of Texas has taken the essence of the Dole Bill and attached it as an amendment t the multi- billion dollar State, Justice, Commerce appropriations bill. This piece of legislation is now moving through the Senate presently.
             Affirmative action is a strategy for curing what ails our society's institutions, which are still plagued with discriminatory attitudes and practices that exclude millions of well-qualified and worthy people from mainstream America. Although it may have been portrayed as institution of exclusion, it actually aims to do the opposite, by bringing all Americans into society's mainstream as equal competitors in the race of life. With many suggesting that this program is no longer needed, we must come to realize that nothing could be further from the truth.