To many college students in California, “affirmative action” is a rather foreign concept.
Through Proposition 209 seven years ago, California voters banned affirmative action at all public universities, meaning most — if not all — current Cal State University students never heard of it during their admissions process.
The same can’t be said for Abigail Fisher.
Fisher filed a lawsuit against the University of Texas at Austin years ago after the university denied her admission in 2008, according to the Los Angeles Times. Fisher claimed that the university’s use of affirmative action barred her from being accepted.
In brief, affirmative action refers to a university’s consideration of applicants’ race during its admissions process. Under the policy, a student’s race plays a factor in his or her acceptance to the university.
Universities aim to create student diversity on their campuses through affirmative action, meaning the policy favors students of minority and underrepresented groups.
Fisher’s case rightfully questions the constitutionality of such a policy. It made its way to the Supreme Court — who bounced the case back to the lower courts Monday.
A white female applicant to the University of Texas at Austin, Fisher sued the university over its use of affirmative action, claiming she had been denied acceptance due to her race, according to the LA Times.
In sending the case back Monday, the Supreme Court told the lower courts to review the case and determine if the affirmative action policy is necessary to maintain diversity on the University of Texas’s campus.
“The university would have us believe that its discrimination is likewise benign,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote. “I think the lesson of history is clear enough: Racial discrimination is never benign.”
The Supreme Court also asserted that affirmative action is permissible only if the lower courts can determine that racial diversity cannot be achieved without the policy, according to USA Today.
The Supreme Court took the case in the right direction.
There is no question that on-campus diversity benefits college students.
Many studies have proved it, and many students come to college looking for exposure to the unfamiliar.
Affirmative action also aims to create an equal playing field for all college applicants.
Oftentimes, students from minority groups must overcome more challenges than others just to apply for college, and affirmative action gives them a leg up for that.
But how can affirmative action create equality by giving preference to applicants based solely on their race?
Take, for instance, two hypothetical college applicants with the same qualifications, including grades and test scores, vying for the same seat in the classroom.
Under an affirmative action policy, the student of a minority race would win the seat without further question.
Is this equality?
Although many may say otherwise, the reality is that racism lies at the heart of affirmative action. It gives preference to students based on the color of their skin.
Additionally, Fisher claimed in her lawsuit that her grades and test scores were much higher than those of many admitted minority candidates, according to the LA Times.
If this is true, then affirmative action has given an advantage to the underprivileged while taking away from someone more qualified and more prepared for college.
I can support affirmative action’s goals — but not its methods.
Kristine McGowan is a senior English major and the editor in chief of the Daily 49er.