The reality of the situation is this. As an individual, I have worked as hard as anyone else. As a minority student, I have worked twice as hard. As an individual I have struggled and worked through life like anyone else. As a student on this campus, I put as much time and effort into my classes as anyone else and must work damn hard for the grades that I get. I do not get exceptional amounts of money from this school because I am a minority, I must go through the same process as everyone else. As a minority student on this campus I have to ask myself daily, "Am I being treated differently because I'm a woman? Am I being treated differently because I'm black?" I have to wonder if people lend a bias to me because they assume that I'm less of a person because of my sex or my color, and what I should do if I encounter one of those people.
Yes, there are programs in existence for minorities, but have you ever stopped to ask yourself why? As a minority student, I am always confronted with this question. Does it make sense for me to get scholarships because I'm a minority? Or does it make sense that I be considered for employment in a different spectrum? As an individual the answer is always no. As an individual I would always like the satisfaction of knowing that I was selected because I was the best candidate or because I was the most acceptable applicant. But as a member of a discriminated against and under-represented group in the work place and in society, I accept that my desired treatment is not always available, and that there is a need for some assurance that I will be treated fairly, i.e. Affirmative Action.
If we were all treated fairly and just, then Affirmative Action would be extinct, but until that day arrives it should remain in existence.
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