In 2008, a white woman named Abigail Fisher applied to the University of Texas and was denied admission. Fisher alleged that the University of Texas discriminated against her because of her race. Fisher claims that she was not granted admission because of affirmative action.
Affirmative action is when a university or employer considers race in the process of admitting students of hiring employees. The purpose of affirmative action programs is to offset historical discrimination that has negatively affected people of color (POC). Fisher alleges that the reason she was not admitted to the University of Texas is because she is white. However, if you look at the numbers, this is simply not true. UT guarantees admission to any applicants ranking in the top 10% of their high school class. In 2008, 81% of the freshman class at UT was admitted under this plan. Fisher did not rank within the top 10% of her high school class. The median SAT score for UT freshman was 1245. Fisher scored an 1180. Had a POC applied and had the exact same (or even slightly lower) stats as Fisher, should the POC be admitted over her? I think yes.
Opponents of affirmative action often argue that its “unfair”. Okay, yes, maybe in this one single faction of life, POC are given a slight advantage over white people. But, in almost every other aspect of life, white people are advantaged over POC. White people, on average, make more, have lower unemployment rates, and better access to healthcare, housing, and education These perks that come with being white are called “white privileges”. If we ignore these privileges and insist that our institutions of higher learning take a colorblind approach to admissions, we would be ignoring 300 years of slavery, 100 years of inequality. We would be ignoring the Trail of Tears, the Japanese Internment, and the Texas Rebellion. In a country that has put the interests of white people ahead POC, affirmative action is just a baby step towards reparations.
Challengers of affirmative action (like Ms. Fisher) act as though race is the main factor in considering a student’s application, but the truth is that college admissions are incredibly complex. There are several other factors considered, including one that benefits white students.
“as many as 15% of freshman at America’s top schools are white students who failed to meet their university’s minimum standards for admission, according to Peter Schmidt, deputy editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education. These kids are “people with long-standing relationship with the university,” or, the children of faculty, wealthy alumni, and politicians. These privileged kids are almost twice as common as Black and Latino students who have benefited from affirmative action.”
The fact that the above is very rarely questioned is a testament to white privilege: no one questions if a white student was admitted on merit, even though it is more likely that a white student is admitted on factors other than merit than a POC is.
It would be naive to assume that we have gotten past race, because the fact is, we haven’t. As long as white privilege exists, programs like affirmative action will need to exist. Equality cannot be achieved until every student, regardless of race, is given equal access to education. Affirmative action is just a baby step. We need to reform our entire education system to better serve our students of color, because we are failing. The first step to equality is equal opportunity. If we cannot account for our nation’s history, we can never hope for equality.
By Ruby Jane Anderson