But Mommy... I already have a black crayon!

The issue of affirmative action is one that has been intensely debated shortly succeeding its implement into society. My first blog post informed potential readers on the specific facts that are an effect of affirmative action as well how it's utilized in many higher education and working facilities. I explained how the use of affirmative action was to the support and disadvantage of multiple ethnic groups, while speaking on what generally happens to those who are affected by this. For my second blog post I chose to focus more on how individual people interpret this topic and its stance in our community. I also narrowed my information more on the general public and higher leveled businesses and institutions takes on this.

Since writing my last blog post, I aimed to get a better feel for how people themselves perceive affirmative action. Originally I believed that the masses were all on a similar viewpoint on this issue, but further research showed that we are split right down the middle. Both groups those being who support and are against affirmative action have strong reasons for why they feel the way they do. According to a poll done on debate.org, 57% of the population viewed affirmative action as a fraud, 70% said it was not needed to achieve equal opportunities, and 75% agreed that the United States does not need it. Prior to uncovering this, I was not aware that so many were against it. Opponents often point out that it's a reverse form of discrimination by favoring one group over another, it keeps societies aware of the barriers that divide it which would ultimately promote alienation and resentment between ethnic groups, it may be unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the fourteenth amendment. Critics have also pointed out that affirmative action is illegal under the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination based on color, race, national origin.

( This picture is a protest fighting for the abolishment of affirmative action, and was brought to the front line due to the case of Bakke vs. California.)

While there are many who are opposed to affirmative action, there are as many who are in complete support of it. Those who believe in it feel that without affirmative action in place the amount of space for minorities in the workplace as well as universities will increasingly drop. Statistics have shown that after the departure of affirmative action in California in 1998, the percentage of minority students admitted to the UC Berkeley fell 61% and UCLA fell 36%. Similarly, after Texas abolished affirmative action in 1996, Rice University freshman class had 46% fewer African Americans students and 22% fewer Hispanic. There have also been major universities and businesses who agree with affirmative action.

These businesses include: Coca-Cola, Intel, Microsoft, Nike, Pepsi, Reebok, Kraft Foods, and Johnson and Johnson just to name a few of more than sixty leading fortune 500 companies that believe this. Universities such as: Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, Duke, Princeton, Yale and Upenn voiced their support of race-conscious admission programs.

For a closer inspection of how people consider affirmative action, I interviewed four people of different race, age, and gender. With these interviews, I wanted to know how the people around me felt. I asked a series of questions ranging from ¨ what is affirmative action¨ to ¨ can it be noted as racism. From my findings I liked that teacher Mark Miles believes that we need affirmative right now because there is not a better option out there. Art and technology teacher Marcie Hull believes that because women are not given and expected as much as their male counterparts, that they should have special treatment. I did not think of this as a good option for short term not long term. It wasn't something that I thought of before and made me lean further to the side that we need it. One thing I kind of agree with is women getting special treatment. I'm all for equality, but I don't know if I would necessarily say special treatment. Another thing I found interesting was that both of the students felt that affirmative actions should only be used in some cases, and it should not just be tossed around. Doing these interviews gave me insight on things that I hadn't thought about, and kind of changed my opinions on a few things. I no longer feel that it is something that predominantly affects African Americans and Hispanics and have a sound effect on many different types of people. I know understand that there should be affirmative action in some cases and that the way it is being used known may not be the best way for it to be used. If there is anything else that I want to know it is how has this gone on for such a long time with so much negative publicity onto it. Also, how does this have an effect on people after they graduate on from college. Doing blog post two as given me a better understanding of this issue as a whole instead of statistics on a page. For my blog post three, I plan to get an editorial published somewhere that will inform those in the public who aren't aware of the issue.

( This is a poster made by The Conservative Coalition for American Values, a Purdue University student organization that was made to represent the University's racial division based on their affirmative action laws.)