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Affirmative Action


            
             There is a lot to be said about affirmative action these days. Affirmative action is defined as a program that tries to increase the population of women or minorities in employment or education. I believe that the affirmative action program should be discontinued because it creates a lazy attitude for women and minorities.
             I. HISTORY .
             Affirmative action began in the 1960's under the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson administrations. They started these programs with the goal to give everyone an equal opportunity. It is a federally funded program that is designed to assist women and minorities. Enforcing affirmative action is explained in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. A famous supreme court case involving affirmative action was The Regents of the University of California v. Bakke in 1978. This case was about a white male student that was rejected by medical school because they had to reserve fifteen spots for minorities. That white male student, Alan Bakke, also had higher exam scores than some of the minority applicants.
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             II. PRESENT SITUATION.
             In more recent cases, affirmative action seems to be getting less support. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush both believed that affirmative action was a form of reverse discrimination. This was evident because men and women who were ambivalent (*V 14) about affirmative action were being appointed during their administrations. A backlash against affirmative action has sent a strong message that minorities and women may no longer get a helping hand from government and academia (Gibbons 1902). Many affirmative action programs are being cut or the funding is being cut drastically.
             III. THE PROBLEM.
             There are two enormous problems that I see with affirmative action. First, and most obvious, it promotes a reverse discrimination against white males. Second, it encourages women and minorities to be lazy. What I mean by this is that women and minorities believe that there are spots out there just waiting to be filled by themselves.


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