Megan White
             Spcom 105
             Affirmative Action (persuasive)
             When the term affirmative action was first used in 1961, President John Kennedy had
             intentions of making a better America.(Steven Cahn, The Affirmative Action Debate 2002.)
             What was a good start then, needs to be put to an end now. Affirmative action needs
             reforming. Because affirmative action is outdated, harms more than it helps, and no longer
             helps the people in need, it should be changed.
             Affirmative Action was created with the general population felt that minorities weren't as good
             as they were. Minorities were kept out of decent jobs, decent homes, and were secluded from the
             rest of the country by water fountains, restaurants, and seating arraignments in public
             transportation. This had a clear effect of their success. Back then minorities were far less likely
             to graduate, go to college, or get a decent job. While ignorant people who feel race plays a part in
             intelligence still exist, we can see that minorities have had their come back. The New York
             Times reported that, "In 2001, 55% of black high school students and 52% of Latinos went on to
             college, which is not that much lower than the 64% of white high school students who went on to
             college. Blacks make up 11% of the total undergraduate population, which is close to the 12.9%
             of the total population they represent."(New York Times June 25, 2003) Unfortunately, allowing
             affirmative action to continue is now harming rather than helping minorities.
             First of all affirmative action violates laws that are trying to protect equal rights. The 14th
             amendment clearly states that the state shall "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
             protection of the laws," yet affirmative makes an employer as well as the admi...