How would you feel of you were rejected the chance at college, to make a life for yourself, because of your race, gender, or class level? Affirmative action is taking over most colleges and denies whites because they seek diversity. Affirmative action could be portrayed as pity, and that pity could potentially prevent a future leader from ever living up to their potential.

As long as we can remember, racism has always been hurtful, degrading and tremendously angering. So why should it even exist today? For the most part, racism towards blacks is long gone, yet the fact that colleges are rejecting whites for the minorities is generating a sense of racism. It denies them opportunities and is just not fair. Affirmative action can be defined as “reverse racism”. Some minority groups may argue that it isn’t even a type of racism, yet others may say that, in their minds, it is retaliation for what we did to them years ago. It is true that we did some pretty horrible things to blacks and we probably deserve some punishment for that, along with the nagging feelings of regret. In my mind, those who were so against minorities got the punishment of being sore losers and the biting shame of losing. But there are the people who were against racism, who don’t deserve the punishment. So why are they feeling the pain of those who were abused, when they didn’t do anything? Why should there be racism when there is no need for it?

There are people out there; people who are destined to become something great, something that would save a nation or lead it to victory, but they never become what they can because they never go to college. They could have applied to the college that would nurture their talents, but a person from another race, minority, or gender gets the opportunity that could have been theirs. It is unfair to judge whether a person gets into college based on things that they can’t control, like their race or gender. There is no reason to decline access for the people who achieved success, when the people who fell short of success because they didn’t try hard enough, are allowed into college. They worked hard to achieve those grades, and it was all for nothing if they can’t get into the college of their choice. Some may say that the people who do get into college can become great too, yet without the sense of fulfillment, they can’t live up to their potential. There will always be a gap, whether it is known or not, of education that a person is lacking. They may not have studied as hard and hadn’t memorized the material well. These habits can continue in college to spawn an ineffective doctor or a lousy lawyer, which could threaten someone’s life in the long run.

A middle class white male applies to a university that he believes that he will do well in. He has no grudges against minorities, nor is he a racist who just doesn’t like anyone who isn’t like him. The male worked hard to obtain a 4.0 GPA and excelled in every academic program he entered. He gets the letter from the college, only to discover that he was rejected for a person who didn’t work nearly as hard and was from a minority. Wouldn’t that make anyone mad? This could cause unnecessary racism and that very racism would eventually swell and become dangerous. If this continues, racism will never die out, like the majority of the U.S. desires, especially the minorities and blacks. There are the few that this wouldn’t cause any anger at all, but I turn it could potentially make the student of a minority mad as well. They could take affirmative action as an insult; that they aren’t good enough to be accepted in a regular basis. Again, this would make anyone angry, feel worthless and possibly doubt themselves. The problem is that “a racist past cannot be undone through more racism”(Sacks 1). The more people are provoked to be racist, the more racism there will be. America can’t deny that it has a past of racism. It will never be undone, despite our best efforts to make it right, but affirmative action isn’t helping at all.

A great leader could never be noticed if they are denied the chance because the college seeks diversity. I applaud them for wanting a diverse group of intellectuals, but denying a white person who has great potential is just not right. As David Sacks says,
“The sole criterion… [is] not just grades and test scores…[but] in athletics, music, student government, drama, school clubs and other extracurricular efforts. But race and ethnicity (or gender or sexual preference) do not have a place on this list; these are traits, not achievements” (2).
People should be noticed, while in that interview, for what they have and can do, not for what their race or gender is. In my opinion, that is not what makes a college great. What makes a college great is determined by how well their students do and not by the color of their skin.