Affirmative action may not be as dramatic as the economy or the war in Iraq, but it certainly takes a big part in deciding the futures of younger generations going into college and presenting opportunities unique in this country.

Looking at the short term effects for minorities being influenced by affirmative action, it’s a great thing to give them because of all the country’s history of discrimination. It’s time to give back the rights the government to away from minorities and it’s time to finally squash discrimination out of our culture. But is affirmative action really getting rid of discrimination? Or is it just creating another way to discriminate but in a more hidden way? This is the issue. Then the question occurs to us: Then should we toss affirmative action away?

Starting with the solid evidence of affirmative action; the little box with squares within it meant to be checked off with the matching ethnicity of the applicant who’s checking that little box(s). And occasionally, to give the applicant the choice to release the information their ethnicity, there’s always an “other” box, just in case. Why does this application need to know the ethnicity of a person? Well, it’s for affirmative action. This causes an issue because if the applicant fills out the box and releases their information, then the college is more tempted to choose an applicant based on their ethnicity and not as much their qualification. The colleges do this so they can brag about their diversity on their campus. But looking through the rose- colored glasses, affirmative action seems to be giving the opportunities of a lifetime and a boost for minorities.

Another major issue that affirmative action creates is reverse discrimination against the majority. In a situation where the college needs to meet a quota for the number of minorities present at the college, the college may turn to look at the race of the applicant and not their qualifications. For a person who has worked hard and is white, then it seems unfair to them when a minority is given the spot because of affirmative action. So it puts the college in a tough spot where they either have to choose race over qualifications or qualifications over race. But keep in mind, the opportunity doesn’t always go to the minority, so everything is equal but not to the person not awarded the opportunity.