Debunking Affirmative Action Myths

Last year, the US Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious affirmative action programmes for college admissions were illegal.  Since then, institutions across the board have reported a drop in Black student enrolments.

It paints a grim picture for racially marginalised groups in higher education in the coming years.

There are many misconceptions about what affirmative action is and the reasons why it exists.  Here, we debunk the idea that it does away with merit-based achievement, giving opportunities to unqualified or undeserving candidates.

What do you think of affirmative action?

Sources

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-10925-establishing-the-presidents-committee-equal-employment-opportunity

https://edtrust.org/blog/a-brief-history-of-affirmative-action-and-the-assault-on-race-conscious-admissions/

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/affirmative-action.asp#:~:text=Affirmative%20action%20refers%20to%20a,in%20leadership%20and%20professional%20roles.

https://clintonwhitehouse3.archives.gov/WH/EOP/OP/html/aa/aa02.html#:~:text=In%20response%20to%20the%20civil,designed%20to%20achieve%20non%2Ddiscrimination.

https://www.aaaed.org/aaaed/About_Affirmative_Action__Diversity_and_Inclusion.asphttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/11/us/harvard-affirmative-action-diversity-admissions.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/09/11/harvard-black-enrollment-drop-affirmative-action/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/30/black-college-student-enrollment-declines-affirmative-action-strike-down

https://www.sidley.com/en/insights/newsupdates/2023/08/us-supreme-court-ends-affirmative-action-in-higher-education–an-overview-and-practical-next-steps