Intellectual Free For All: Affirmative Action
Time for a long-awaited...
I apologize for not pumping these out every week like I had been doing, but after moving and starting a new job at the busiest time of year, I ended up with a lot less free time than I had previously. In any case, today's topic is affirmative action.
John F. Kennedy first coined the phrase "affirmative action", demanding that federal contractors must "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin". Lyndon Johnson expanded the system to include gender/sex a few years later. Last night, two US states had proposals to end affirmative action, and it seems that at least one of them (Nebraska) is all set to move forward with it.
Having heard from people who are both for and against affirmative action, I think this block of text from Wikipedia sums it up pretty well:Proponents of affirmative action generally advocate it as a means to address past or present discrimination or to enhance racial, ethnic, gender, or other diversity. Opponents of affirmative action contend that affirmative action programs are discriminatory and that they, in many cases, result in the promotion of under-qualified individuals over higher qualified individuals on the basis of race, ethnicity, and gender.
Want to participate in this week's discussion? Be sure to read the guidelines!
I apologize for not pumping these out every week like I had been doing, but after moving and starting a new job at the busiest time of year, I ended up with a lot less free time than I had previously. In any case, today's topic is affirmative action.
John F. Kennedy first coined the phrase "affirmative action", demanding that federal contractors must "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin". Lyndon Johnson expanded the system to include gender/sex a few years later. Last night, two US states had proposals to end affirmative action, and it seems that at least one of them (Nebraska) is all set to move forward with it.
Having heard from people who are both for and against affirmative action, I think this block of text from Wikipedia sums it up pretty well:Proponents of affirmative action generally advocate it as a means to address past or present discrimination or to enhance racial, ethnic, gender, or other diversity. Opponents of affirmative action contend that affirmative action programs are discriminatory and that they, in many cases, result in the promotion of under-qualified individuals over higher qualified individuals on the basis of race, ethnicity, and gender.
- How do you feel about affirmative action? Do you feel that it is still necessary in 2008?
- Do you feel that affirmative action effectively evens the playing field?
- What do you think about these measures that were put in place to end affirmative action? What consequences do you foresee?
Want to participate in this week's discussion? Be sure to read the guidelines!