Ashley Yong Source 4

Is there a “workable” race-neutral alternative to affirmative action in college admissions?
Long, Mark C. "Is There a "Workable" Race-Neutral Alternative to Affirmative Action in College Admissions?" Journal of policy analysis and management 34.1 (2015): 162-183. Web. 8 Mar. 8.

The U.S. Supreme Court defined in the 2013 Fisher v. University of Texas how it is legal to consider an applicant's race in the college admissions process. They said it is allowed when there is “no workable race-neutral alternatives would produce the educational benefits of diversity.” The abstract says that, "replacing traditional affirmative action with a system that uses an applicant’s predicted likelihood of being an under-represented racial minority as a proxy for the applicant’s actual minority status" can bring in a class with a lower predicted GPA and likelihood of graduating, suggesting race-neutral alternatives may not work. The workings and results of several studies are detailed in the journal.

I was initially a supporter of the race-neutral alternative to affirmative action, especially after the last article when Obama talked about how he didn't think his daughters should benefit from affirmative action. It made me remember when a girl in my school was admitted into Stanford. She was the daughter of the former McDonald's CEO and everyone accused her of getting in because she was black. But, the data did make me double take. While I don't think GPA matters that much, especially one that was only slightly lower according to the research, I do think the lower likelihood of graduating is concerning. It makes me wonder why it is lower and if that reason is good enough to continue trying the alternative to traditional affirmative action. I also wonder how the journal defines workable and what colleges' ultimate goal in affirmative action. If it is to give disadvantaged students an opportunity at higher education, it should not matter that much that GPA is lower. We also need to look at why GPA is lower. Is it a general trend that results from poor lower education? All in all, I think more research has to be done before we can concretely decide on traditional affirmative action or the race-neutral alternative.

This source responds most to my source 2 because of the Obama parallel I drew earlier because they both talk about race-neutral alternatives to affirmative action. I tend to agree more with source 2 because I do think the advantages of race-neutral alternatives outweigh the disadvantages of an average lower GPA. A new approach I can look into from putting these ideas in synthesis with each other is what are some advantages/disadvantages not explored in these journals?

This source has led me to ask what are some advantages/disadvantages of a race-neutral alternative to traditional affirmative action not explored in these journals? And after assessing these advantages/disadvantages, which one should be implemented into our college admissions process and how does the public feel about it? This is important to ask because I have been looking at public reaction and opinion on certain court case decisions during my exploration.