My senior year of high school, a friend and I decided to apply for many different scholarships together. We applied for all of the exact same scholarships. We had been friends for years and had been involved in many of the same school organizations. School wasn't easy for me, but I had always tried to excel. Response to our applications started trickling in. In the end, my friend received a full-ride scholarship to Utah State University. I was also accepted and received about $2000 worth of scholarship money. I was very grateful to have received anything at all. That would pay for one semester- maybe a little more.
             What was the difference between my friend and I? Was it pure luck? This is college we are talking about. It was serious to me. I didn't think colleges should base applicants for scholarships or admittance on luck. My grade point average was higher than hers. I was involved in more clubs/service/extracurricular organizations than she was. As I thought about this, I realized the only main difference I could site. My friend was Hispanic.
             Was I being narrow-minded? Was I being spiteful toward my friend because of what she had received? Was I angry and using race as an excuse to foster my anger? No-I was merely trying to understand. Was this just a simple twist of fate, or did this run deeper than any of us seem to think about? I shrugged this off and understood why my friend had received all the scholarships, but is this the way we should continue to think? How much longer should we continue to shrug it off? Is affirmative action really accomplishing what it set out to accomplish?
             The ideas of affirmative action sound wonderful, but affirmative action has gone too far. The time has come to rethink.
             Affirmative action is the set of public policies designed to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Affirmative action has quite a history be...