Yanna Mei, Period 7, 12/15/2023

Yanna Mei

12/15/2023

Modern Mythology 2024

Socio-political Consciousness

As many high school students finish up their college applications this month, I reflect on the changes made this year and its significance to this college application season; the most prevalent being the U.S. Supreme Court ending Affirmative Action. 

On June 29, 2023, The Supreme Court made the long-awaited decision to keep colleges and universities from information about students’ race and background. This news angered many people as they believed this would lessen the diversity in colleges and universities. Because I did not have many details about this decision initially, I was confused as to why people believed this was a bad thing. If the universities didn’t have access to someone’s race, they wouldn’t be able to discriminate against a person of color, right?

As I began to learn more and listen to other people’s points of view, I realized that an easy conclusion could not be drawn about this ruling. On one hand, colleges being blind to the student’s race does give a more equal evaluation for every applicant looking to attend those colleges. On the other hand, not everyone needs the same level of evaluation. As I write this post, I am reminded of an image I found on Instagram that provided a clear explanation and example of equity and equality:

I reflected on my original opinion of the Supreme Court ruling and realized there are benefits to keeping affirmative action. Many people can agree that diversity is a big part of choosing which college or university you may want to attend in the future. Diverse learning environments allow people to not only learn from others from different backgrounds but also prepare students for the real world, where they will inevitably need to work with many different people. After affirmative action was banned in Michigan in 2006, “the University of Michigan's Black student population fell from 7% in 2006 to 4% in 2022, in a state whose high school population is 17% Black.” This not only keeps underprivileged kids and minority groups from receiving equal education opportunities, but also prevents the students in the university from being exposed to a diverse population of kids. This is what separates races and starts the discrimination of privileged versus underprivileged people. 

Ignorance and unequal opportunity are what keep people separated. If we were all able to learn in the same environment, a sense of community and belonging would be built and people could learn from each other, not only from educators. The process of affirmative action could be argued both ways, but I believe that it is best to put in place a learning environment that is more integrated and equitable for students. 

Sources:

• “Affirmative Action in Education Matters for Equity, Opportunity, and the Nation’s Progress.” NAACP, 29 June 2023, naacp.org/resources/affirmative-action-education-matters#:~:text=Report-,Affirmative%20Action%20in%20Education%20Matters%20for%20Equity%2C%20Opportunity%2C%20and%20the,%2C%20and%20Asian%20students%207.1%25. 

• Iisc. “Illustrating Equality vs Equity.” Interaction Institute for Social Change, 24 Nov. 2021, interactioninstitute.org/illustrating-equality-vs-equity/.