Affirmative action is an issue that seems to continually pop up around the country. Just a few days ago, oral arguments were presented to the Supreme Court in the Fisher vs. University of Texas case. Essentially, this case is about a young white woman, Abigail Fisher, who was denied admission to the University of Texas and asserts she was given unequal treatment in the admissions process. This article does not intend to determine whether or not Fisher is right in her complaint against the university. Instead, this board would like to further examine a holistic view of how affirmative action is used in university admissions processes.
This board has said it before and we will say it again; every person on this campus deserves to be here. There is no doubt the people chosen to attend this school are qualified candidates and contribute to the university in some way. That being said, there are some areas of affirmative action we would like to address.
Racism in today’s society still exists. There is no denying the fact that African Americans are paid significantly less in today’s workforce than Caucasians. In fact, a study released by the United States Census Bureau says that only 3.3 percent of African Americans have reached the $100,000 mark compared to 10.8 percent of Caucasians. Some argue that much of that difference has to do with the educational achievement gap between the two groups. Only 19.6 percent of African Americans have earned bachelor’s degrees or higher compared to the 32.6 percent of Caucasians. Clearly, there is inequality in the workplace as well as in our education system.
However, with that being said, this board feels that race should not be given so much weight when deciding who should be admitted to institutions of higher education. This board believes income level or class-based characteristics should be given equal if not more weight than race in college applications.
A study reported on by The New York Times suggests that African American and Latino college applicants receive larger preferences in their application—the equivalent of 150 to 300 SAT points. The same treatment is given to athletes and “legacies.” At the same time, the Times reports that low-income students receive either no preference or a very small amount. In fact, only 5 percent of students in universities across the nation come from the bottom 25 percent of the income spectrum.
This board believes that while race is an important factor, the fact that class level or income level is barely considered, if at all, is wrong. The resources and opportunities of the wealthy are much more substantial than for those of the poor, regardless of race.
For example, high school students in poor neighborhoods go to schools that simply do not have the resources to prepare students for standardized tests and college-level classes. Students with the money to attend private schools and better high schools are presented with more opportunities to take practice SATs and Advanced Placement classes. The fact of the matter is, no matter what the color of your skin is, the environment you grow up in and are educated in affects what path you take in terms of higher education. This is really a matter of improving our K-12 school system, which seems to be failing those without the financial opportunities of others.
Of course, that is not to say that minority students at better schools don’t struggle due to discrimination either. That is why this board is a strong proponent of keeping race in the admissions process, but income level needs to be considered as well.
So what does this all mean to UW-Madison? This university may in fact consider income level as much as race in the admissions process, but there is really no way of knowing. The university needs to increase the level of transparency in the admissions office if we are ever going to find out how exactly the process works.
The goal of affirmative action is to get those with promise out of bad situations. While the goal in itself is admirable, the system is outdated. Race is and should be an important factor when considering college applicants. However, class-based attributes should be equally considered if the system is to reach its full potential.
What do you think of the current affirmative action policies in place? Please send us your own opinion by emailing opinion@dailycardinal.com.
