Affirmative action Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Affirmative action - Research Paper Example its volatile history of 48 years, affirmative action has been both appreciated for better economic opportunities to minorities and scorned at for injustice to the majority community in the name of compensating minorities. The term â€Å"Affirmative Action† was first used by President Kennedy in 1961 for correcting discrimination that prevailed although civil rights laws and constitutional guarantees were in force. The issue resurfaced in a major way in 2003 when the Supreme Court awarded a decision related to affirmative action in universities permitting education institutions to factor race in admissions not to be used mechanically and conservatively. The decision of the highest court has been applauded by one and all. We just cannot ignore the importance of such actions as they impact the whole fabric of society and international community (Brunner, Affirmative Action History). Let’s analyze the contents of the court ruling and identify the issues at stake. The ruling allowed race to be used a criterion to decide university admissions but there was a very thin line of difference in the judges’ opinion on not taking the benefit seamlessly. In two different but parallel cases, Grutter v. Bollinger (case no. 02-0241) involving the University of Michigans law school, the judges voted 5-4 to continue the University of Michigan’s law school affirmative action policy, which advocates minorities cause; and Gratz v. Bollinger (no. 02-0516) involving the undergraduate program, wherein the judges voted 6-3 to expunge the affirmative action policy for undergraduate admissions by giving 20 points to blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans on an admissions rating scale (CNN, 2003). In the case of Grutter v. Bollinger of the university law school wherein Barbara Grutter, a white, couldn’t get admission in 1996 because African-Americans and ethnic minorities had the benefit of point system over the white. In the other case, the court decided against the policy of giving