The educational community in the US is concerned about the possibility of the elimination of Affirmative Action policies, which ensure that there is a cultural diversity in schools and universities, so that historically underrepresented communities could lose valuable opportunities in their development of learning and, therefore, affect their future.
In the educational field, the term "Affirmative Action" is a set of policies applied in schools that consider the differences between ethnic groups as the main characteristic for their admission, inclusion in programs and the consideration of their performance according to the social group to which they belong, since each one has their own capacities and limitations, making it impossible to generalize education.
During a press conference organized by Ethnic Media Services, a group of specialists on the subject, addressed the risks that thousands of young people could face in their educational future, especially in university admissions at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina without this Affirmative Action.
For Lisa Holder, president of the nonprofit Equal Justice Society (EJS), it is worrying that the Affirmative Action policy is being eliminated by putting students' education and opportunities at risk, without considering the social damage that could be caused, as is currently the case in California.
"We have seen that children of color do not have the same access to opportunities. Our public universities in the state of California are now less diverse and several generations of college students have lost the benefits that higher education offers," she stressed.
In response, Holder, who has extensive experience as a lawyer, called on the educational community and society in general to consider all possibilities and not only rely on the Affirmative Action policy, but to create and analyze new measures for educational inclusion.
In this regard, Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said that one should not rely solely on court decisions, "in the end, people make their own decisions and we should all look for other measures that generate opportunities for inclusion."
The lawyer also urged people to be prepared for misinterpretations when eliminating Affirmative Action, because he said, "it should not be taken to extremes, nor should it be allowed to affect other areas of society."
John C. Yang, president and CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, a nonprofit legal aid and civil rights organization, expressed concern about the elimination of Affirmative Action and the impact it would have on the Asian American community.
“Our future depends on racial equity and diversity in tertiary education in order to have a successful multiracial democracy. If this decision, these limits, this policy is implemented – eliminating Affirmative Action – we are all going to suffer, specifically Asian Americans.”
Yang said that "education cannot go backwards." An example of this, he said, is that Harvard University would be greatly affected in terms of racial diversity, with a decrease from 14 to 6 percent among African-descendant students, while among Latinos it would drop from 14 to 9 percent.
Michele Siqueiros, president of The Campaign for College Opportunity, explains that students lose interest in education when measures such as the elimination of Affirmative Action are implemented, so it is necessary to support racial diversity in favor of education.
"It is a universal value and we will continue to advocate for inclusion in higher education regardless of the Supreme Court's decision, and we will ensure that this is not a justification for universities to return to an era of segregation and exclusion that denies entry to Asian-Americans, African-Americans and Latinos," she said.
While Affirmative Action has generated many achievements and benefits, it should not be assumed that this measure is the only one, Siqueiros added.
That is why, she said, it is important to learn from what happened in California, where many students decided not to apply for admission to schools because the Affirmative Action policy was interpreted in a very conservative way that limited freedom.
Finally, the specialists spoke about how admission exams are applied and interpreted, "as simple numbers," without considering academic performance, the student's potential or their performance over the years, "you can't just generalize."
"We are reduced to a number, a number on a standardized test that has nothing to do with our character, with our intelligence, it has nothing to do with our merits. Character is what shapes you as a person," said Thomas A. Saenz.
In conclusion, the specialists agreed that it is necessary to see students beyond a figure or student enrollment number, since each one deserves the opportunity to learn, study and develop as a professional.
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