Blog #2 by Scott

The readings this week were interesting for me considering I have been an opponent of affirmative action since the day I learned what it meant. I had heard the words,  affirmative action, pop up here and there when i was a teenager. I couldn’t believe people were being denied jobs and admissions to universities because of the color of their skin, even after they prepared hard and earned it. That didn’t sound fair to me, it sounded like reverse discrimination. I understand today that some drastic,  and probably unfair things, needed to be done in our society in order to break the “monopoly” of white males dominating some aspects of society, such as higher education and the desired jobs in our society.  The readings this week helped reinforce those beliefs quite a bit. The Supreme Court has had a difficult time weighing the pros and cons of affirmative action and handing down decisions as well. Their most recent ruling, in 2003, was the University of Michigan cases, where they ruled with the university, and affirmative action, and against the university, and the affirmative action policy in the other case.  For, and against, all at the same time? That is how tricky and controversial this issue is. Now that I have learned more about these famous Supreme Court cases, I like the way the UC-Davis Medical School implemented affirmative action in the 1970’s.  They reserved 16 spots out of 100 for minority to students, in order for them to have a the opportunity to become doctors and possibly serve their home communities, where white doctors may be less inclined to practice. In addition these minority doctors can serve as a great inspiration to others in their community. Lets all hope affirmative action is a thing of the past in this country, as that could signal a good balance of diversity in all walks of life.