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Erin Rogers
Caruso
UWRT 1103-017
November 19, 2015
Where Does Affirmative Action Stand Today?
The issue of diversity and its place in classrooms has been a controversial subject for
years. Many schools believe having a diverse community is beneficial and according to recent
studies this is proven to be true. However, the question of how to get diversity in universities
without causing controversy is a challenging one. When affirmative action was first brought to
the attention of the public in 1961 as a way to reach this goal, debate over keeping it or banning
it started right away. Nevertheless, the negative aspects of affirmative proved to outweigh the
positives and more and more race neutral programs are being implemented to replace affirmative
action.
In a well known case, a woman named Abigail Fisher claimed that the University of
Texas at Austin denied her admission into the school because she was white and that this violated
the Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment. She took the university to court and
the arguments were first heard by the Supreme Court on October 10, 2012 (Fisher v. University
of Texas at Austin ). However, the case bounced around from court to court and a final decision
is yet to be determined. With this in mind and with the results of other cases that have resulted in
the limitation of affirmative action in admissions I have decided to create a product that focuses
on what the future holds for race policies in universities. I wrote a letter directed to admission
offices of colleges explaining how the admissions process would change if all race based factors

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were to be eliminated. It would show what would happen in the event that the use of affirmative
action was deemed unconstitutional for all states.
I begin the letter by addressing the fact that diversity is important and part of the mission
of most educational institutions. This is because having a culturally rich student body
contributes positively to the development of citizenship traits, transmission of cultural norms
and growth of interpersonal and social skills that students will need to be productive and thriving
citizens of a democratic nation (Nguyen). It will also allow people to be exposed to situations
involving all races so society can change its racial stereotypes (Wicks-Lim). However, with this
being said it is clear that diversity was not and still cannot be achieved without a certain program
or process put in place.
This is where affirmative action has come into play to try and achieve this mission that
many universities have. But with the recent trends that have been occurring in court cases like
Gratz v. Bollinger, where the University of Michigan was using an unfair point system,
adjustments and changes are starting to occur. This is why I specifically chose to showcase the
side of having no affirmative action in my genre product rather than having the policy be
included. In the letter I mention race-neutral programs which have been and are currently being
used in place of affirmative action to create diversity.
One of the main policies that has been implemented in three states already are percent
plans. With this, students are guaranteed admission into a university who have graduated high
school at the top of their class. In Texas the student must be in the top 10%, Florida requires the
top 20 and in California the top 4%. This creates diversity by allowing high school graduates
from all areas of the state to have a chance to higher education regardless of what they have. It
makes the competition for admission more fair by assessing how well a student can do with the

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resources and opportunities available to him or her (Chapa). Even if the minority student has a
lower SAT score or GPA compared to the national average because of the resources that were
eligible to them in their high school, they still have a chance to get admitted into a college
because their whole class would have the same conditions (Chapa). Most importantly, with
percent plans universities will acquire students from different region, ethnic, economic, and
social backgrounds creating diversity.
Aside from looking at the merit of each student, comprehensive review has also been
implemented to create a diverse student body. Now colleges are starting to look at other factors
that can influence how a student learns. These factors include disabilities, low family income,
first generation to attend college, need to work, disadvantaged social or educational environment,
difficult personal and family situations, refugee status or veteran status (U.S. Dept. of
Education). This will allow students to be looked at based on a level that is fair to him or her.
Specifically, socioeconomic status plays a big part in who attends college. If a student is coming
from a family with low income, they are less likely to attend school. However, if a financial aid
package is offered to them to help pay for the costs of college, more students from all
socioeconomic status will choose to enroll. Therefore, awarded financial aid will create a
diverse student body by giving all minorities and majorities an equal chance to receive a higher
education (Graca).
With percent plans, comprehensive review, and financial aid, students from all different
backgrounds have a better chance of receiving a higher education and being admitted into
colleges. With these policies and adjustments that do not consider race, diversity can be achieved
which was the intent of my genre product. The letter showcased that diversity is an important
factor but there are other ways to go about creating and maintaining this besides looking at an

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applicants race. Although affirmative action is not banned in all areas of the United States,
alternatives are being implemented due to previous rulings and research is still being conducted
to find the perfect solution to this nationwide issue.
As I stated in the letter the ultimate goal is to steer away from all race based and race
neutral programs and to have diversity be a natural force in society that will benefit all. Even
with all of the alternatives being used another question has surfaced about how well these
programs truly are. Some still argue that alternatives are not accomplishing what affirmative
action was and not permitting race-conscious admissions would have a dramatic effect on these
selective universities that have invested in recruiting and admitting diverse students (Nguyen).
Others say that they have found little evidence that leads to notable increases in diversity
(Fletcher). Regardless of this ongoing problem still seen today, searching for different options is
a great start that can lead to a new basis for admissions like what was shown in my genre
product.

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Works Cited
Original
Chapa, Jorge. "Affirmative Action and Percent Plans As Alternatives for Increasing
Successful Participation of Minorities in Higher Education." Journal of Hispanic
Higher Education. 4.3 (2005): 181-196. Print.
Fletcher, Jason M. and Adalbert Mayer. "Tracing the Effects of Guaranteed Admission
Through the College Process: Evidence from a Policy Discontinuity in the
Texas 10% Plan." Contemporary Economic Policy. 32.1 (2014): 169-186. Print.
Graca, Thomas J. "Diversity-conscious Financial Aid After Gratz and Grutter." Journal
of Law & Education. 34.4 (2005): 519. Print.
Nguyen, David H. K. "Burden's on U! the Impact of the Fisher V. University of Texas
at Austin Decision on K16 Admissions Policies." Clearing House. 87.3 (2014).
Print.
Achieving Diversity: Race-neutral Alternatives in American Education. Washington,
D.C: U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2004. Print.

New
"The University of Texas School of Law Tarlton Law Library Jamail Center for Legal Research."
Home. N.p., 11 Nov. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Wicks-Lim, Jeannette. "Why We All Need Affirmative Action." Common Dreams. N.p., 1 Dec.
2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.