Affirmative Action

Supreme Court Justices: Sotomayor is
on top right hand side

     My research paper was about whether affirmative action in the college admissions processes should still be continued. Sonia Sotomayor tends to vote on the liberal side and has stated that affirmative action did help her get to where she is now. While her test scores weren't the best, she had phenomenal grades which led to a scholarship to Princeton and later to Yale. She said she needed the help but worked hard to prove she was worthy. She epitomizes what affirmative action should be about: giving the disadvantaged minority students who have the grades a chance in elite colleges. She does not deny that affirmative action gave her an  advantage and actually calls herself an "affirmative action baby". This is a stark contrast to a Conservative minority Justice, Clarence Thomas. He hated the effects of racial preferential treatment.

Abigail Fisher

     She admits that affirmative action policies when she was younger are much different than today where quotas were implemented, and now quotas are illegal. Back then she didn't actually understand that she was given this advantage because she was a minority, but she needed the help. She believes affirmative action programs are still needed today and will likely vote in favor of the University of Texas in the Fisher v. University of Texas case. That case, which is extensively described in my research paper, is about Abigail Fisher who applied to the University but was rejected. She believes that she was denied because she was white, and people with not as good applications were admitted over her because they were minorities. The court case will bring a discussion that could possibly end affirmative action in the college admission process by saying looking at race as one of several factors will be prohibited. The Supreme Court, which is made up of four people that tend to vote conservatively versus three people who tend to vote liberally, will likely vote 4-3 in favor of Fisher.
    She says affirmative action was a door opener that changed her life. She is a great example of how affirmative action can help those that desperately need it. She was born to Puerto Rican parents who barely knew any English, lived in government funded homes, and had a mother that had to work many hours to send her children to private schools to get the best education possible. Her mother barely had enough money for school, and I think she thought Princeton was way out of her league. She is a stubborn women but that perseverance pushed her to be the very best in the elite colleges. I think this brings up the point of a socioeconomic based affirmative action which could surely help those that come from similar backgrounds like Sotomayor. Not everyone has the money to get private tutoring or even go to college, and scholarships that are given to those from low income backgrounds but have decent grades deserve the opportunity.