Ambivalent About Affirmative Action
* As a Vietnamese American female student at UC Irvine, I am just beginning to understand the reality of how the world operates. Having been raised in the United States and bred through the American education system, I admit to experiencing and seeing my share of discrimination. Yet, even to this day I find myself struggling with the issue of affirmative action. Being caught amid the heated debate on the practice of affirmative action in the UC system, I have discovered both the benefits and harm that would ensue for an ethnic minority such as myself from this law.
Because I am an ethnic female, I feel as though I should support a policy that is essentially made for my benefit. But in honesty I cannot say that it has always been beneficial. In the past 20 years, my family has worked hard to reach a middle-class status. I have worked hard to make it to where I am today. We have both been knocked down by racism and discrimination, but we have also picked up and kept going.
As a result of arriving in this country with empty pockets and never receiving any form of government aid, my parents have taught me to be self-sufficient and to go seek new opportunities. This was especially crucial because, as a minority, these opportunities would not come to me. For some time my parents raised four young children [by] working odd jobs that varied from janitorial services to flipping burgers. As hopeless as it may have seemed 20 years ago, today they have seen all their children receive a college education. Like my parents, I have achieved my goals with my hard work and capabilities. I have gotten this far on my merits, not on my race or gender.
Granted, there are many who rightfully benefit from the use of affirmative action, but there are flaws and loopholes in the system that allow people to take advantage of the act. In order for affirmative action to be successful in achieving its purpose, it needs to judge people on the basis of qualifications, not just ethnicity. If the sole basis of admission is ethnicity, then it would be adhering to the very problem which we are arguing. All too often we have seen a qualified college applicant with the high grades, the high test scores, the extracurricular activities and the community service experience get rejected from the acceptance list. I agree that minorities need to be given more opportunities, but not at the expense of someone who is equally, if not more, qualified.
I am not naive to the social inequalities that are still prevalent in society, nor am I ignorant to the fact that I will be faced with my share of discrimination as I enter the “real” working world. Tackling the issue of unequal opportunities at the college level is merely exhausting our energy. Our goal is to expand the opportunities available to minorities to allow them to enhance their potential. To do this we need to focus at the younger level, providing these kids with information about education and careers and provide the resources needed to pursue such goals.
Affirmative action is being used in lieu of a solution, causing us to forget the source of the problem, which is the discrimination in opportunities offered at the different socioeconomic levels.
People need to take their own initiative to fight for, to obtain and to use their resources. They cannot suddenly expect these things to be offered to them at someone else’s expense.
TRANG DOAN
Irvine