Affirmative Action

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Affirmative Action

• Beth Gottman
• Kelly Lynch
• Jill Malie

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Introduction

• What is Affirmative Action?
• Definition A set of policies that seeks to
  correct past discrimination through measures to
  ensure equal opportunity for everyone.

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What is affirmative actions intended purpose?

• It helps to eliminate discrimination against
• Women
• Minorities
• Aged persons
• Gays Lesbians
• Disabled
• Low-Income
• Religious Differences

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How does this pertain to education?

• It helps mostly with higher education (university
  admissions) opportunities that would otherwise be
  unavailable to the unfortunate and the oppressed.
  

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History of Affirmative Action

• Where did it all start?
• 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka,
  Kansas called for mandatory desegregation of
  public schools in the United States

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History Continued

• Brown prompted the equal opportunity ideals that
  would later materialize into affirmative action.
• Brown prompted the Civil Rights protests during
  the latter 1950s and through the 1960s.

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Timeline of the Development of Affirmative Action

• March 1961- President John F. Kennedy issues
  Executive Order 10925, which states that hiring
  practices should not include racial bias.
• 1964- Civil Rights Act is passed that disallows
  discrimination in voting, education, employment,
  and public facilities.

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Timeline Continued

• July 1964- President Lyndon Johnson issues
  Executive Order 11246, which involves employers
  taking affirmative action when hiring
  minorities.
• 1967- The above order is amended to include women.

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Timeline Continued

• June 1978- University of California v. Bakke
  arises as one of the first reverse
  discrimination cases.
• The Supreme upheld the affirmative action
  intentions, but ruled quotas at the university
  unconstitutional.

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Timeline Continued

• February 1987- United States v. Paradise which
  overturns the ban on quotas first determined in
  the Bakke case.
• July 1995- President Bill Clinton issues new
  guidelines for practices of affirmative action.

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Timeline Continued

• March 1996- Hopwood v. University of Texas Law
  School suspended the affirmative action program
  at the university. This established that
  educational diversity is not recognized as a
  compelling state interest in Texas.

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Timeline Continued

• November 1997- Proposition 209 is created in
  California that bans all forms of affirmative
  action practices.
• December 1998- Initiative 200 is enacted in
  Washington DC, which also bans affirmative action
  practices.
• December 2000- Supreme Court decides that race
  can be used in admission standards for
  universities.

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As It Stands Today

• In June of 2003 the Supreme Court has ruled that
  race and ethnicity can be a contributing factor
  to university admissions, but it cannot be the
  deciding factor.

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Pros of Affirmative Action

• Diversity in schools is highly valued as a
  quality learning environment
• Students at a disadvantage will have little
  trouble with entering universities
• It helps draw people into areas of study they
  might never consider
• Stereotypes will be broken down
• It helps compensate minorities for centuries of
  mistreatment

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Cons of Affirmative Action

• It leads to reverse discrimination
• It lowers standards of accountability for
  students and employees to perform better
• Students admitted on the basis of affirmative
  action are often ill-equipped to handle school
• It is condescending to minorities to say they
  need help
• It demeans the minority spirit of success being
  defined as hard work and ability vs. that a
  person got to where they are in life because of
  affirmative action

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Does affirmative action really work?

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Does affirmative action really work?
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Wright State Statistics

• According to head of the affirmative action
  department Juanita Wehrle-Einhorn, Ph.D.
• Students of color has increased from 8 in 1984
  to 13 in 2004
• Faculty members of color has increased from 9 in
  1984 to 16 in 2004

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Ongoing Debate

• Affirmative has always been a hotbed of debate
  and will likely continue to be.
• Blacks have a 375 year history on this
  continent 245 involving slavery, 100 involving
  legalized discrimination, and only 30 involving
  anything else.- historian Roger Wilkins (1994)
• As equality increases, so does the number of
  people struggling for predominance.- Mason
  Cooley (1988)

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Bibliography

• http//www.infoplease.com/spot/affirmativetimeline
  1.html
• http//www.balancedpolitics.org/affirmative_action
  .htm
• http//beatl.barnard.columbia.edu/students/his3464
  y/iyobe/higher7.htm
• http//www.wright.edu/admin/affirm/
• http//aaup.org/issues/affirmativeaction/aalegal.h
  tm
• http//www.bartleby.com/66/5/13605.html