Yolanda Tran
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Political Science and Asian American Studies
"There is a negative misconception that affirmative action is no longer needed. I am educating community members about affirmative action by explaining that it is still needed given that differences in access to opportunities between white Americans and minority communities are still drastically large.
"Affirmative action is especially important in higher education. With higher education, people from minority communities have a better chance for upward social mobility, especially through enhanced employment opportunities. "
Trevor Clark
Michigan State University, Social Relations
"Affirmative Action is an important issue on many levels. It allows women of all races and ethnicities the chance to try and earn equal pay for doing the same amount of work as a man, and it allows everyone who goes to school or work to experience people of diverse backgrounds. Most importantly the experience of meeting such diverse people is at least equally important as learning in class. If you can't appreciate, accept and work with people of all backgrounds in the global society we now have, it will not matter how much skill training you have. Affirmative Action allows this learning opportunity for all students of all races, genders and ethnicities."
Nathan Go
USC, Linguistics, Political Science, Screenwriting
"I think the issue of immigration might take an even greater role in the 21st century, as more and more countries open up their markets. America should set an example by drastically increasing immigration instead of restricting it. People should be given the chance to find a better life if they weren't lucky enough to be born into a developed country. It's just fair and it's in everybody's interest. Freer boundaries around the world ensure everyone, including Americans, the right to start over."
Monica Anderson
Southwestern University (TX), Political Science and Communications
"Last year, we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, a time in our nation's history that was plagued by racial violence and intolerance, but that gave way to the sit-ins, rallies, and marches of the 1960's. It was the students who were leading the charge for equal rights in education, and I feel that it is students today that are continuing this fight.
"I attend Southwestern University, a small, liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. As a result of anti-affirmative action efforts in Texas, the number of black students on my campus has decreased. I work in the Office of Administration and the Office of Recruitment, contacting prospective minority students in the hope of countering this sad trend toward a less diverse campus environment. "I want to educate others about affirmative action in order to show them the importance of giving qualified students from various backgrounds a chance to learn. I'll be quick to note that affirmative action programs cannot provide miracles, but they can provide opportunities."
Meg Cassedy-Blum
New York University, Undeclared
"I believe every student should have an equal opportunity for success, and affirmative action recognizes the need for a diverse student body. Motivated students who didn’t have access to certain educational privileges when they were growing up can have their motivation and hard work recognized through affirmative action, because affirmative action is based on more than raw test scores and transcripts. Students are more than their grades; they are their experiences, their life stories, the things that they’ve overcome to get to college."
Katherine Scully
Yale University, History
"It is difficult for me to isolate what ought to be the premier civil rights battle of the next decade, for the three issues that appear to me to be the most critical are all intertwined. A lack of public investment in minority communities (access to quality education, affordable housing, and safe neighborhoods), a racially-biased criminal justice system that sends 1/3 of the black male population to jail, and the decline in unions and pro-labor laws all compound and exacerbate the effects of one another.
"The lack of investment in minority communities and lack of affordable housing force families to live in unsafe and overcrowded developments, denies each new generation access to quality education, and creates neighborhoods that are depressed by crime. This initial lack of education and opportunity is exacerbated by the scarcity of low-skill jobs and the reality that a low minimum wage is not enough to support a worker and a family. "The combination of little education, depressed neighborhoods, and lack of opportunity too easily send someone into a cycle of petty crime and prison. The war on drugs, rather than removing drugs from the depressed neighborhoods, simply sends 1/3 of black men to prison and further destroys the fabric of minority communities. "I believe that the ultimate civil rights battle must tackle these three concerns simultaneously. If we move away from an investment in fear-mongering and punitive policies - such as the ineffective war on drugs - toward investment in the construction of safe, attractive neighborhoods that foster human dignity and education and encouraging economic opportunities would make the opportunities for each new generation brighter."
John Printy
University of Florida, Business
"I see affirmative action as this generation's freedom fight because -- while it is more subtle -- this policy will help lead us to true integration and equality.
"From poverty levels, to government, to businesses, to educational curriculum, to prisons, it is obvious to anyone who believes in equality that something is not right. Until we fix these problems and things like the minority achievement gap are a thing of the past, there will be a need for affirmative action.
"The U.S. Supreme Court decision in the University of Michigan cases set an important precedent and sent a message to institutions of higher learning around the nation that affirmative action is still needed."
Grace Allen
University of Texas at Austin, Journalism
"Attending the University of Texas at Austin reinforced why I strongly support the active effort to diversify schools and allow every individual the opportunity to attend. Being part of a diverse school teaches you the things in life that a class cannot offer. While working within diverse student organizations at UT - it became clear how empowered we as students felt when we all worked together. At the same time, however, we realized how many people do not get such an opportunity due to vicious societal cycles, which continue to leave them out of higher education. For me, this means continuing to educate myself as well as others about affirmative action in order to dissipate the social constructs that bind."
Ai-Ling Malone
University of California at Berkeley, Business Administration and Economics
"The need for affirmative action is demonstrated by the current lack of diversity on college campuses across the nation. My current institution of higher learning is a great example of why affirmative action is still needed today. For example, the decline of African Americans on campus since Proposition 209 (the 1996 California ballot initiative that ended affirmative action programs) has been devastating. Currently, the Black student population at UC Berkeley is less than 2.8%. This decline at undergraduate institutions will have an impact on the number of Blacks in graduate schools, too. Denying the need for affirmative action denies that racism of all forms, including institutionalized racism, still exists in this country."
Adam Khatib
Oberlin College, Politics / International Studies
"Affirmative action is personally important to me because it serves as a starting point in recognition of the injustices that minority populations have faced throughout the history of this country. I see affirmative action not as a solution, but as a beginning.
"If we in America are ever to realize an equal society with liberty and justice for all, we must correct both the historical and the present privileged status of the dominant members of our society. Affirmative action is a step in the process of erasing this notion of privilege that is inextricably linked to the discrimination and oppression faced by millions of Americans -- people whose only crime is not to have been born the 'right' color, the 'right' gender, or with a certain amount of money."
