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Andrew Vaccaro/ERH 102-12/ Hamilton/ 3/9/15
Changing Times: Analyzing Class-Based Affirmative Action as a Viable Substitute
ERH 101, Section #_1___
Date Due: __3/12/15__
Date Sub.: __3/12/15__
Assignment Name: ____Synthesis and Citation Final Draft
Help Received: _none___
Andrew Vaccaro
Writer’s signature for “Work for Grade”
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With the controversial debate evolving in higher education regarding equality and social
mobility, the most prominent diversion appears in the race-based vs. class-based approach to
analyzing the integration of policies in promoting fairness in college admissions. Following the
Fisher vs. University of Texas Supreme court case, affirmative action has taken center stage in
the political and social world of modern America; the case essentially established a new
precedent, allowing schools to reconsider admission policies on the basis of race and cogitate
other avenues of approach. While most critics agree now agree that the previous historical
system of race-based affirmative action could possibly dissolve in the future, they draw distinct
lines in approach to the current status of race-based affirmative action, the assessment of factors
promoting social mobility and fairness, and implications towards the future of affirmative action
in the admissions process of higher education after diagnosing the current system. Through
thorough analysis and comparison of critics’ approaches to each of these issues, we can more
easily comprehend the complex, clashing debates occurring the realm of higher education
admissions; In the modern age of competitive college admissions, is class-based affirmative
action a viable alternative to race-based affirmative action in promoting equality in higher
education?
Researchers/ scholars argue the current system isn’t working, but critics divide on the
degree of separation from race-based affirmative action toward the preferred class-based system.
The most radical of the separatists from the “flawed” system argue that class-based factors are
significantly superior to the past racial factors; these critics address the true underlying issue of
inequality in education as a multitude of inherited class distinctions. In the popular New York
Times article, Leonhardt comments on the inherent fairness of class-based assessments in higher
education, noting the fathomed constitutional approval paired popular modern support. Similarly,
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Kahlenberg, the senior activists of class-based affirmative action, strongly advises for the
creation of new system which utilizes demographics and socioeconomic factors to overcome the
blatancy of race-based affirmative action. While the previous viewpoint argues the complete
dissolution of past actions, others view the class-based affirmative action in a more progressive
manner; realizing the complexity of the current education environment following the Fisher vs.
Texas case, these critics argue for a more realistic approach, including an integration of
class/social policies into the current race-based criteria. In “A Class Act? Social Affirmative
Action”,
Schwarzschild discusses the progressive integration paired with the inherent
difficulties of overcoming various opinions in the modern world. In “Considering Class: College
Access and Diversity”, Gaertner and Hart introduce an interesting perspective, providing support
from both sides of the class, recognizing the solid arguments presented, but ultimately press
towards a future of class-based alternatives as a viable substitute through gradual shifts in
societal opinions. To reveal their progressive point-of-view, the pair claims, “But the challenges
associated with low socioeconomic status are different from those associated with minority
status. Of course, if the Supreme Court does one day close the door to race-conscious admissions
policies, class-based affirmative action may have to serve as a substitute” (Gaertner and Hart
401). Through analysis of modern opinions of affirmative action in college admissions, educators
rally support around a class based system; this critics and scholars argue in degree of diversion
from race-based policies as some promote immediate abolition of race-based action in preference
of a direct substitution of class-based policies while others envision a more gradual approach to
promote equality, acknowledging the fact that the current system is in imminent danger
following the Fisher case.
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Scholars vary in approaches to assessing factors of promoting fairness in education in
relation to uncontrollable life factors: what truly determines inequality in education. Most of the
sources evaluated agree that inequality in education is deeply rooted within class-based
differences in social backgrounds and uprisings. In “Why Labor should support Class Based
Affirmative Action”, Kahlenberg speaks out to organized labor to explain that socioeconomic
disadvantages significantly outweigh racial disadvantages in terms of SAT scores, stating: “if we
want to admit qualified students who have overcome odds, admissions officers would give
considerable weight to socioeconomic disadvantage and much smaller consideration to race.
Today, universities do the opposite” (Kahlenberg 12). Gaertner would agree with Kahlenberg, as
he argues in “Considering Class: College Access and Diversity”, that social mobility should be
the ultimate goal in affirmative action, relaying the thousands of people born into poverty in
which raced doesn’t necessary play a vital part, stating: “The future of race-conscious admissions
decisions notwithstanding, giving additional admissions consideration to students who have
overcome the challenges attendant to socioeconomic disadvantage is a worthwhile endeavor”
(Gaertner 301). Providing an interesting perspective in determining inequality, Leonhardt in the
New York Times article discusses the legal fairness of previous policies and introduces the
assumption that in order to effectively pass legislation to promote equality in higher education,
society must pass policies in favor of economic/class based factors that would enhance equality
and even increase racial diversity. There are various stances critics take in assessing factors
towards analyzing educational equality; most agree that economic factors play a vital role in
hindering opportunity and argue that affirmative action should ultimately promote social
mobility should remain at the core: the ability for students to overcome hardships and compete
with those whose parents provide more resources and money into their education.
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While most agree that that the currents system is lacking, announcing the arrival of an
improved class-based system, they vary in their approach to diagnosing the currents system’s
flaws and diverge in reasoning for providing support for a new system. Viewpoints range along a
broad spectrum; some believe that dividing along race is unfair, while others point to progressive
demographics and better methods of regulating “fairness” along the many competing groups. In
the renowned New York Times article, Leonhardt explains the current legislative barriers towards
educational progress, claiming that current conditions hinder Supreme Court action as he leans
towards a progressive model to comply with the Constitution and reach a more popular audience.
In Why Labor should Support Class-Based Affirmative Action, Kahlenberg repulses the current
environment in which a coalition of blacks and democrats pressure higher institutions to attract
minorities with race-based policies. He reveals that most people currently realize the need to
overturn racial actions, but approaches the audience with reasons towards the hindrance of such
policies. He also illustrates why race based action is outdated, pushing towards socioeconomic
disadvantages as the true problem. Working in tandem with this argument, Zamani-Gallaher
helps analyze the opinions of minorities in a biased-based environment where minorities apply
biased-based pressure to unbalance the voting plain towards the advancement of their particular
race. Self-interest consumes the voting polls, creating a disproportionate support for previous,
flawed policies. Critics of current policies converge agreement towards a change, but possess
differences in reasoning, including: legal precedent, changing demographics, and the “fairness”
of analyzing certain issues over others.
Despite the variation of approaches to each of these issues in affirmative action analysis,
we can synthesize a number of broad conclusions. The authors distinctly acknowledge the
fluctuating role of previous race-based affirmative action and understand that a swift solution
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must take root to apply past learning experiences towards promoting equality in college
admissions: most promising a class-based system of factors in affirmative action to promote
social mobility. The ultimate goal of a future research product in mind, I believe I can focus the
broad arguments and voices to look at the future of affirmative action in more specific fields
such as the elements of the political deadlock that hinders legislative action.
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Annotated Bibliography
Gaertner, Matthew N., and Melissa Hart. "Considering Class: College Access and Diversity."
Harvard Law & Policy Review 7.2 (2013): 367-403. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8
Mar. 2015
This article ultimately attempts to provide a detailed account of the recent
Supreme Court case of Fisher and implications towards the future. It begins by providing
background of the Fisher v. University of Texas in which the University displayed that
class-based affirmative action efforts can simultaneously achieve racial diversity. While
providing the positive implications of future use of such policy, the article implores the
inherent complexity of establishing grounds for measuring class, economic factors, or
achievement in the face of social barriers. The authors then dive into the logic of either
side of the argument, stating that both have the same motives of encouraging social
mobility rather than assessment of raw test scores such as the SAT. The article then
engages in arguing that social vs. racial challenges are different and that in that, following
the Fisher court case, class-based affirmative action may provide a viable substitute to the
ever-withering race-based affirmative action. The source can provide useful and exciting
viewpoints relaying the relevance of socioeconomic considerations in future college
admissions processes. The authors elicit credibility through their association with
Harvard Law as well as the thorough analysis in the specialized legislative field paired
with professional language choices. This particular source provides a useful background
on both the past and present of affirmative action, giving the reader valuable insight on
the pros and cons of the current system of race-based affirmative action. The source will
be genuinely useful in my research paper, as it provides a clear, informative view of the
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other side of the argument and can ultimately help unravel the modern attitude in higher
education.
Kahlenberg, Richard D. "Why Labor Should Support Class-Based Affirmative Action." New
Labor Forum. 24.1 (2015): 11-14. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.
In this education journal, author Richard Kahlenberg blatantly speaks out to the
audience of organized labor in an attempt to detail the social history of race-based
affirmative action and illustrate why a more class-based system is more relevant and
valuable in today’s world. In his famous publication, he begins with the proclamation that
Richard Nixon initiated racial preferences with his bill of rights for the disadvantaged of
all races. He then cites a Georgetown University study which found that socioeconomic
disadvantages/factors significantly outweigh racial disadvantages in terms of SAT test
scores. Kahlenberg argues that colleges should obviously utilize social, economic, and
class based factors but simply choose not to because as a result of a wave of influences; a
coalition of black and Hispanic urban democrats join forces with white blue collar rurals
to fend off any real solution to the “modern dilemma”. Also, he argues that institutions
are wrongly pressured to possess race-based actions to compete in attracting underrepresented minority students. The author is a senior member at the Century Foundation
and essentially the most notable activist in the movement away from race-based factors to
promote social mobility in poor, unrepresented communities and demographics. His
articles have provided a base in the movement and his articles have made their way to the
University of Virginia Press, the Washington Post, and Princeton University Press; upon
in-depth research of the topic, Kahlenberg’s name appears often as the dominant presence
in asserting race-based affirmative action. This source provides my research with the
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essential so-what information regarding the importance of modern views and social
issues in higher education. It provides the far right approach towards eliminating racial
preferences with hopes of allowing the real factors to promote true educational equality.
Leonhardt, David. “If affirmative action is doomed, what's next?” New York Times. Web. 17
June 2014.
David Leonhardt’s publication in the New York Times discusses the most current
and recent implications regarding the eventual downfall of race-based affirmative action
in the progressing environment of higher education. Leonhardt provides a brief history of
the past success of race-based affirmative action and portrays clear specialization in the
legislative field, citing the recent Fisher case in correlation to probable outcomes of
future Supreme Court decisions. Citing two pro class-based books, he challenges the past
supportive views of affirmative action while boldly supporting a more tailored approach,
based on a social/economic class system rather than solely race. Initially outlining the
Supreme Court’s precedent of never unanimously voting in favor of a race-based
affirmative action program, he zooms in on Justice John Robert’s critical swing vote in
relation to realistic future measures of accomplishing legislation. He then moves to
provide transparent evidence towards accomplishing “fair” action in higher education as
many states have already banned race-based affirmative action; he utilizes books, “Place,
Not Race” and “The Future of Affirmative Action” to illustrate the argument that classbased systems would vastly increase economic diversity while leaving broadly similar
racial diversity. He also ensures that in many cases, racial diversity would even increase;
race-neutral variables and factors such as family income could essentially be more
politically popular and “fair” in the eyes of the constitution. This commentary article
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published the acclaimed New York Times newspaper by an inquisitive author provides a
relevant, current source in evaluating the current state of affirmative action in higher
education. The source provides a powerfully interesting eye-opener to the reader and
allows insight on the changing views of fairness in higher education, pro class-based
affirmative action background, and a comprehensive legislative analysis of modern
Supreme Court conditions.
Schwarzschild, Maimon. "A Class Act? Social Class Affirmative Action And Higher Education."
San Diego Law Review 50.2 (2013): 441-467. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Mar.
2015.
Schwarzschild’s article centers on the modern debate of affirmative action based
on social class or race in higher education. It relays the modern views from past to
present, indicating a progressive perspective that class-based factors are often regarded as
a more fair and accurate substitute to past actions based on race and ethnicity. He engages
in a lengthy, well- cited discussion of the comparison of the two theories, ultimately
noting the significance of class preferences in the modern world. The article focuses on
the role of Affirmative action in higher education on the basis of social class in the U.S. It
mentions that the Class-based preferences are often regarded as a better alternative to
conventional affirmative action on the basis of race, ethnicity, and sex. It reveals that
comparison of class preferences and racial preferences can highlight the importance of
class preferences. Schwarzschild presents a controversial debate in which he analyzes the
nature vs. nature concept of education to evaluate the fairness of educational evaluation
on the basis of one’s parents’ money and education. He cites various activists in the field
and urges the support of class preferences in addition to racial ones; he derives his
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credibility from his reputation as a well-versed scholar in the legislative specialty; he is a
professor of law at the University of San Diego and utilizes intellectual and compelling
rhetoric focused upon an informed audience. This source provides a comprehensive
theory of affirmative action and adds details on the action difficulty of assessing factors
in affirmative action that would ultimately promote social mobility.
Zamani-Gallaher, Eboni M. "The Confluence Of Race, Gender, And Class Among Community
College Students: Assessing Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action In College
Admissions." Equity & Excellence In Education 40.3 (2007): 241-251. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.
This article essentially examines the opinions and common attitudes of
community college students towards affirmative action. Focusing on UCLA’s surveybased study, the study reveals determinants of approval/disapproval of race-based
affirmative action. This source provides detailed research into an often forget-about
demographic of community college students. As community college is a common
resource into promoting social mobility via transfers into universities/colleges, the study
looks to explore the impact of social/racial factors in determining support for affirmative
action based primarily on self-interest. The article backgrounds the history of affirmative
action, paying particular attention to the community college environment and the
importance of government financial support such as Pell grants to assist with minorities’
education. Ultimately the source concludes that white males largely accounted for those
most opposed to affirmative action while black and Hispanic support was much fiercer.
The article provides valuable insight on the self-interest theories and background of
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affirmative action, allowing the reader yet another view on the complex web of hindering
factors towards the progress of affirmative action in the modern world; it is essentially an
explained methodology/survey in which the author analysis the various viewpoints and
common opinions within separate racial realms. This source is useful towards my
research paper because it provides a more comprehensive view of affirmative action and
its impacts in higher education. It also allows an unexpected center of community college
students to stake views which are important because community college is a valuable tool
in promoting social mobility.