Against the Need for Affirmative Action – Opinion

Affirmative action has been one of the most challenging policy issues in American and

Canadian higher education. In both the US and Canada, affirmative action started in the

workplace and eventually expanded to higher education. The US courts have taken opposing

sides in a contentious debate over affirmative action practices in higher education. Compared to

the United States, Canada has seen a lot less legal action on this topic. Although the basis of

affirmative action is a noble pursuit to improve diversity in higher education and give people a

hand up, it is my opinion that affirmative action in its current form is flawed and no longer a

required policy objective. Namely, it introduces prejudice into admissions selections and thus

promotes reverse racism and discrimination, it creates an unfair advantage to minorities, and it

gives students a false outlook on real life which subsequently fosters mediocrity.

The first flaw with affirmative action is that it promotes reverse racism and

discrimination by permitting colleges to choose and admit students with inferior credentials

purely on the basis of their race or ethnicity. The importance of ending affirmative action and

increasing diversity is to stop discussing race and ethnicity in general if we want to stop making

such a huge deal out of them. Schools should focus on students' grades, extracurricular activities,

and community participation rather than the applicant’s skin tone or background. An example of

this is seen at Harvard University whereby in 2022, the United States Supreme Court would take

into account a Harvard case claiming that Asian American candidates are subjected to

discrimination. In its lawsuits, the plaintiffs’ analysis was taken from data records of “more than

160,000 applicants who applied for admission over six cycles from 2000 to 2015.”1 They

1
“Harvard Rates Asian-American Applicants Lower on Personality Traits, Suit Says,” The New
York Times, accessed May 6 2023,
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/us/harvard-asian-enrollment-applicants.html.
uncovered that when compared to students of other ethnicities, Asian American candidates had

the best academic records yet received the fewest acceptances.2 Additionally, Asian American

candidates were regularly evaluated worse by Harvard University admissions officials than other

applicants on qualities including a pleasant attitude, likeability, bravery, compassion, and

respectability.3 Harvard’s admissions staff testified that they did not believe that different racial

groups have better personal qualities than others. However, this is contradictory as their

testimony does not match with their admission decisions. In violation of Title VI of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964, 4 Harvard's consideration of race in their admissions process unjustly

discriminates against Asian-American candidates.

The second issue is that affirmative action creates an unfair advantage to minorities who

may not be deserving of their spot due to a lack of academic requirements as an individual may

be selected over someone with a superior academic record simply because of race. Evidence of

affirmative action being utilized unjustly is the Canadian case of Vijay Chokal-Ingam. He

submitted two applications that had identical academic credentials. The only difference between

the two was that the first was his actual application while the second was still of him but with a

different appearance to fool admissions committees into believing he was African-American. His

actual application was turned down, but he was accepted into the medical school he sought

2
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4
“What to Know about Harvard’s Case in the Supreme Court,” Harvard Gazette, accessed May 7
2023,
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/10/what-to-know-about-harvards-case-in-supreme-c
ourt/.
admission to in his actual "fake" application after altering his appearance.5 This illustrates the

need to eradicate the use of race or ethnicity in admission policies to best promote fairness, equal

opportunity and reducing unnecessary bias in the selection process. Further evidence that shows

an inconsistent acceptance process motivated by racial prejudice is the case of Fisher v.

University of Texas. The plaintiff, Abigail Fisher, claimed that the University of Texas violated

her rights under the Equal Protection Clause and Fourteenth Amendment, by using race as an

admissions factor to admit students into the university.6 Fisher challenged the University of

Texas consideration of race in the holistic review (factors that include grades, extracurricular

activities, leadership and “special circumstances” such as consideration of socioeconomic status,

whether one has been raised by a single parent, and race)7 when her application was rejected. As

Fisher fell into the second category of applicants (those who were not in the 10% of their high

school graduating class)8, the plaintiff noticed that a total of five Hispanic and black students that

had lower grades than her had been admitted. As well, 42 white students with lower grades than

hers were also admitted to the program and 168 black and Hispanic students with higher grades

than hers were also denied under the holistic review.9 Fisher neglected to mention these details

5
“Affirmative Action: Helping Hand or Harmful Measure?,” The Journal, accessed May 7 2023,
https://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2016-01-11/opinions/affirmative-action-helping-hand-or-har
mful-measure/.
6
“Justice Alito Spent 50 Pages Railing Against Affirmative Action in College Admissions-These
are his Main Points,” Business Insider, accessed May 7 2023,
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/justice-alito-spent-50-pages-214508829.html.
7
“TVO Today: Current Affairs Journalism, Documentaries and Podcasts,” TVO Today, accessed
May 5 2023,
https://www.tvo.org/article/how-the-abigail-fisher-case-highlights-the-difference-between-affirm
ative-action-in-canada-and-the.
8
Ibid.
9
Ibid.
and it is my personal opinion that if these above points were raised, the Supreme Court would

hold that the race-conscious admission program at the University of Texas is unlawful under the

Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Lastly, affirmative action gives students a false outlook on real life and promotes

mediocrity. In the real world, employers evaluate individuals based on their personality traits,

work habits, skills, perseverance and motivation. If we continue to emphasize the idea that race

plays a substantial role in determining behaviour, work habits and skill, individuals may become

less motivated and diligent in their jobs. These beliefs can lead to a lack of discipline,

motivation, determination, and a belief that some individuals are better than others due to race. If

individuals from minority groups/backgrounds are granted admission to universities through

specialized programs compared to standard applicants, there is a risk of fostering the perception

among these minorities that mediocrity is acceptable and that success in life can be effortlessly

obtained solely based on one’s racial identity and thus diminishing the value of hard work and

personal achievement. Numerous Canadian universities share this circumstance. In Canada, the

phrase "educational equity" is used in place of the phrase "affirmative action." There have been

no serious legislative initiatives to encourage affirmative action in Canadian higher education,

despite the fact that this topic is incredibly contentious in the US. The main objective of these

programs in Canada has been to increase the enrollment of Aboriginal people, whereas the main

objective of programs of a similar nature in the United States has been to increase the enrollment

of African Americans. The University of Ottawa, McGill University, and the University of

Toronto, among others, offer specialised programs in educational equity. The University of

Ottawa Faculty of Law has a separate admissions process called “specific category applicants”
which is used specifically for applicants of aboriginal ancestry.10 McGill’s Faculty of Law as

well has a separate admissions category reserved for Aboriginal applicants. McGill expressly

states that “the faculty is committed to equity and diversity by providing applicants a session on

diversity on campus.” 11 And finally, the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law has a special

admission program for aboriginal students. They mention that the application review process is

“sensitive” and that many factors beyond grades and LSAT scores are looked into when

assessing the applicant’s file.12 There is no mention of which factors are taken into

consideration; they state that they particularly rely on the personal statement to gain better

insight into the applicant’s background.13 Although Canadian institutions have implemented

preferential treatment to enhance the participation of indigenous students in university programs,

little is known about the number of students who actually positively gain from these policies or

the extent to which they are effective. Even though a student can be admitted, nothing is known

about the unique program's real results or the difficulties these pupils confront. There is a

research gap in Canada regarding the number of special admissions programs in universities as

well as the efficacy of these programs for applicants from minority backgrounds, which is why I

think universities should establish an impartial admissions process where race should no longer

be taken into account.

10
“Admission for Uottawa Students,” Study, accessed May 17, 2023,
https://www.uottawa.ca/study/undergraduate-studies/admission-uottawa-students.
11
“Home,” Undergraduate Admissions, accessed May 6, 2023,
https://www.mcgill.ca/undergraduate-admissions/.
12
“Indigenous Law Student Admissions Faqs,” Indigenous Law Student Admissions FAQs |
University of Toronto Faculty of Law, accessed May 6, 2023,
https://www.law.utoronto.ca/admissions/jd-admissions/aboriginal-applicants/aboriginal-law-adm
issions-faqs.
13
Ibid.
 As a result of its promotion of reverse racism and discrimination, the unfair advantages it

creates, the false impression it gives students of real life, and its promotion of mediocrity,

affirmative action is flawed. The Asian-American case at Harvard and the Canadian case of

Vijay Chokal-Ingram’s 2 different applications is evidence that affirmative action leads to

preferential treatment based on race. Furthermore, the real life consequences of false

expectations created by affirmative action are that it leads to lower productivity and cultivates

lower standards. Given this evidence, I believe that affirmative action and educational equity are

no longer necessary policy objectives.

 Bibliography

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Hartocollis, Anemona. “Harvard Rated Asian-American Applicants Lower on Personality Traits,

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