Is affirmative action doing more harm than good? Affirmative action has long been a contentious issue that impacts who gets into college. The fairness of affirmative action has been called into question. While its intentions are praiseworthy, it has consequently become a way to divide society along racial lines.

Affirmative action is innately divisive. It relies on racial categorization to ultimately decide who gets into college. Students with extremely impressive college applications are often overlooked for less qualified candidates solely because of their ethnic background. Affirmative action  does the complete opposite of creating an inclusive community; it leads to resentment amongst students who have been unfairly penalized due to ethnicity. 

Affirmative action creates the illusion of equality. Its biggest flaw is that it’s well-intentioned policy only redirects discrimination. While it pushes the idea of equality, it raises a different ethical predicament: can we reach equality if we favor one group of people over another? 

It’s argued that affirmative action enhances and improves student bias in a diverse classroom setting, but individuals who feel they were unfairly deprived in the selection process only develop more bitterness towards minority groups. This is extremely dangerous because it enforces the narrative that race is the most important factor when judging someone’s ability, it also leads to a mentality of “us versus them”. This only exacerbates racial divisions and leaves people questioning the credibility of institutions. Did that student deserve to be admitted or are they simply there to fit into a superficial diversity agenda?

So what’s the solution? As an alternative, we should focus on creating policies that create equitable opportunities for everyone regardless of gender, race and status. We have to address the cause of racial disparities in school, such as underfunding in underserved communities. 

This investment in early childhood education can mitigate any gap before it becomes too wide to close. Increasing financial aid and scholarships for underprivileged students based on socioeconomic factors also makes it easier for those who are in need of assistance to actually receive it. 

Affirmative action works tirelessly to undo a racist past but fails miserably. While well-intentioned, we as a society should move past this and pursue reforms that don’t use race as a factor. Students that exemplify greatness and a broad range of individual achievements deserve admission. Race is not an achievement, but a trait.