Affirmative Action was put in place in 1965 to expand education and job opportunities for minorities in the United States. As of 2023, minorities have been stripped of this equal opportunity.

One of the main misconceptions about Affirmative Action is that it means students are admitted solely because of their race or ethnicity and are not qualified to attend the school. That is not the case. 

Affirmative Action is considering a student’s race as background information. Meaning they are not accepted because of their race, it is simply taken into consideration. 

A university sets aside a percentage of admissions for each race, meaning that every year, a certain number will be admitted to try and balance out the demographic of the school.

Thus, it does not mean that a Hispanic student will get accepted despite being less qualified. That student will be admitted because they are equally as deserving as an Asian student, but because Asian students already make up the lions share at 30 percent of the student body at that institution, the percentage slot for admissions will be higher for them. Latinx students, on the other hand, make up a smaller portion of the student body, so the percentage slot for admissions will be smaller for them. 

The claim that Affirmative Action is “discriminating” against Asian and White students is simply untrue. Affirmative Action doesn’t only apply to Asian and White students, it applies to everyone. There is a certain percentage of African American students that will be admitted, however, if they already make up a large percentage of the school, there will be fewer admission slots for them. Affirmative Action primarily helps minorities because…they are the minority.

The ban on Affirmative Action means that colleges are permitted to admit any percentage of students which will inevitably lead to less diversity. 

One of the cases made against Affirmative Action was Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. Ironically, Harvard had fairly low diversity rates before the Affirmative Action ban. 

According to the Harvard Crimson, the class of 2026 admissions consisted of 40.4 percent white students, 27.8 percent Asians, 15 percent African Americans, and 12.6 percent Latinx. 

Asian and White students made up almost 70 percent of the class of 2026. However, this changed in the class of 2023, where White students made up 50 percent of admissions. These advancements in diversity will now be set back, as there will no longer be limitations on how many Asian and White students are admitted despite already making up the majority of the student population. 

Beyond the empty complaints of “discrimination”, it must also be considered that minorities start with a financial disadvantage. 

In many cases, schools base admissions on test scores and recommendations. Arguably, these benefit wealthy students who were able to pay for resources. 

Minorities make up a significant part of the lower-income population, except Asian Americans. In many cases, minorities aren’t given the same opportunities. Affirmative Action balances out this inequity. 

According to Brookings.edu, “62 percent of Americans aged between 40 and 50 are white, 72 percent of those in the top fifth of the income distribution are White. For Blacks, the numbers are 12 percent and 7 percent, respectively. The only minority that bucks the trend is Asians, who make up 7 percent of the overall population but 11 percent of the upper middle class.” 

It is not that some students are smarter, often, they just have more money and more opportunity.

Throughout history, it is evident that money equals supremacy. 

Take the civil service exams of China for example, only the rich elite Chinese made it into the scholar gentry. Although all Chinese were able to take the exam, only the rich children would make it there. This was because their parents had the money to fund their studies.

There is little-to-no movement in the racial composition of upper-middle-class Americans. Hispanic and Black demographics for the upper middle class are continually falling. Meanwhile, White students continue to make up the top of the income pyramid. Differing from the other minorities, Asian students are increasing their representation in the upper class. This means most Asian and White students have an advantage due to their access to extensive resources. 

Affirmative Action simply ensures that minorities are given equal consideration.

Right off the bat, minority students are not given a fair playing field when looking at income, and thus, educational opportunities. 

“Currently, only 12 [percent] of Black adults and 10 [percent] of Hispanic adults live in upper-income households,” according to www.pewresearch. These are extremely low numbers compared to that of Asians and Whites. 

Some may argue that these statistics change every year, meaning Latinx and African Americans move up on the income ladder. This is incorrect. The only groups that typically move up from lower to middle, or middle to upper class are Asians and whites,

“18 percent] of Asian adults and 15 [percent]of White adults moved up from the middle to the upper-income tier in an average year, only 10 [percent] of Black adults and 8 [percent] of Hispanic adults experienced such,” according to Pew Research. 

The concern amongst those against Affirmative Action is that it is unfair to Asian and white students. 

Perhaps it is simply the lack of knowledge about what affirmative action is that provokes this notion. 

Regardless, the concern is not genuine. If there was a true concern for “fair” admissions, the same people would be concerned about legacy admissions in which students are accepted into schools simply because someone in their family attended the school.

Instead of upheaval about free passes into schools via familial ties, people are upset about minorities being given equal opportunity to achieve higher education. 

The issue of discrimination does not lie within Affirmative Action, it lies within the reaction to diversification of schools and workplaces.

Diversity should not make you mad.