Take Action to Diversify Campus

By HENRY BRISIBE

As a black male attending a predominantly white university, I feel as though affirmative action is definitely in place today, and I am almost certain that my race played a part in me gaining admission to the University of Mary Washington.

The question is, how much consideration is given to one’s race when making admissions decisions? According to thesocietypages.org, the Supreme Court has ruled that consideration of an applicant’s race or ethnicity is legal.

I personally see no problem that an admissions committee considers a student just because of his race, especially where a school lacks diversity.
Affirmative action occurs to give “under-achieving” students a chance, but to consider students who are different from the majority of the application pool. When affirmative action is applied fairly, it is done for the overall well being of a community, whether it is for a college class or an executive board. It enables students of different viewpoints and backgrounds to take part in a group of people they might not have been included in otherwise.

Historically minorities have been discriminated against, and while this is less so today, sometimes the playing field needs to be leveled a bit.

Minorities still have less access to the educational opportunities and high-salary job positions that those in the majority enjoy, so affirmative action helps to even the scores on this.

We live in a society where the involvement of all races is needed to create fair laws that benefit the most people. The population is no longer predominantly white. America is more diverse now than it has ever been, and if projections are correct then in the very near future whites could become a minority for the first time in U.S. history. If there is not any proper representation of all races, how can we fairly make way for a better society?

The United States, unlike other countries, tries to incorporate all different kinds of ethnicities and backgrounds to accurately represent the voice of our country, and, as a result, is working its way to a more just and diverse society.