Assignment # 5-Blog Entry #1

For our final essay assignment, I have chosen to evaluate the issue of affirmative action. From  its inception, affirmative action has been under fire as some individuals claim that it is an act of reverse racism. Many felt the use of quotas by school to determine how many minority students should be admitted placed more qualified students at a disadvantage.Initiated under the presidency of Nixon, the program was aimed at giving disadvantaged students who had earned good grades, participated in extracurricular activities and worked to better their communities the chance to receive the college-level education they otherwise would have been denied. The goal of the program was not to dis-empower one group for the benefit of another but, rather to level the playing ground.Universities that received government aid would have to show that funds were being used to help diversify their institutions and provide qualified students who could not afford to attend the university with financial aid.However, due to several court cases  such as University of California v. Bakke  universities are no longer allowed to use quotas. Much of the confusion and frustration arises from the public's ignorance about the program. I am interested in this topic because I feel that without programs such as affirmative action I would have not been able to attend college.I believe that individuals need to be better informed.

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