Affirmative Action... WWOD (what will obama do)

Two articles in the San Francisco Cronicle proposed to different stances on where Obama should stand on affirmative action. The debate is whether Obama should support affirmative action or not.

Cecil Brown wrote the article supporting affirmative action. Brown says that if he didn't have affirmative action that he would never been able to afford Columbia, the same school president Obama went. Obama has stated that he does not know if he received some form of affirmative action but said he wouldn't be ashamed if he did. Brown is quoted saying "He is not for affirmative action- he is affirmative action." Brown argues that after prop 209 passed, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of race or gender in state institutions, "black enrollment dropped and a hostile racial climate blanketed campuses". Brown also quoted Greg Jones who is on the African American Advisory Committee supported by the California Board of Education, who said that some African American student have "low expectations among themselves". The purpose of the African American Advisory Committee is to figure out why 43% of blacks are failing to graduate from high school. Brown says that Obama gives inspiration to young minorities and that it will inspire the generation. He says that affirmative action will help young African Americans who are motivated by the success of Obama.

Victor Merina writes about the other side of affirmative action, mostly talking about Ward Connerly. Connerly has made many attempts, some successful and some not, on getting rid of affirmative action. He has helped pass measures in California, Washington state, Michigan and Nebraska, that prohibited affirmative action for gender and race. This article comments on Obama's disdain for McCain, who supports Connerly, and says that Obama does want some kind of affirmative action for low income students. Connerly thought that in Obama's inaugural speech he was "looking beyond race" and that this will be a new push against affirmative action. But if Obama doesn't do away with affirmative action Connerly will be back with the same arguments.

My opinion is that affirmative action for race and gender is tricky, but I agree with it. I'm a little biased because I researched the affirmative action cases on the side of U of Michigan, but I think that diversity is important in education. I think that in the first article they went a little overboard saying that without affirmative action there is hostile relationships in schools but I think the more people around you that are different the easier it is to understand and appreciate people and their differences.