Affirmative Action in Schools

Paper Summary:

This paper distinguishes between two forms of affirmative action policies, the goal-based affirmative action and process-based affirmative action. In goal-based affirmative action, the emphasis is placed on giving minority racial status special consideration even before a qualified pool of candidates is established. This form of affirmative action was evident in the controversial admissions policies at the University of Michigan Law School, where African-American and Hispanic applicants were given 20 extra points solely based on their ethnicity.

From the Paper:

"Other opponents of affirmative action in universities argue that by fostering an atmosphere of race-based promotion, these policies also serve to minimize the individual gains that many African Americans, women and other minorities achieve on their own merit. Instead, their achievements are tainted by a stigma. In one example, a young black woman made the University of Virginia's Law Review just as the university's affirmative action went into effect. The change from the previous, merit-based system significantly reduced the value of the young woman's Law Review achievement (Conti and Stetson 44-45)."

More papers on Affirmative Action in Schools:

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• Persuasive Essay # 50816 : "Affirmative Action in Higher Education"

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