Colleges and universities are justified in considering race in admissions decisions.

My main contentions are-- 1. It promotes equality by bringing higher education for all. 2. It spreads more racial diversity. 3. It is legally justified. Definitions: Minority = Any other race besides Caucasian whites Before I start on the argument-- What is the purpose of race admission? The purpose is to even the odds & give everybody a fair & equal chance. This is necessary because of the varying backgrounds that diverse races have. Statistically wise, certain races have a larger majority of people being less advantaged. The majority of people in these particular races are therefore forced to go to schools that aren"t as good as others, affecting their education. The purpose of race admissions is to give everybody an equal chance. This is not giving anyone a disadvantage. Colleges look at many other factors to determine admission. Race will not give certain people an advantage over others; its sole goal is to even the odds. Now onto my contentions. 1. It promotes equality by bringing higher education for all. Schools with mostly minority students are likely to have fewer resources, less assertive parent groups & less experienced teachers, which puts minorities at a disadvantage. According to a 2012 Report by Department of Education & UCLA: Minorities are twice as likely as Caucasian or Asian students to attend schools with a substantial majority of less advantaged children. The typical minority student attends a school where almost U32; of their classmates come from low-income families. This is why more dominant races have such a large head start. It starts all the way back in Elementary School & even Kindergarten. Because the minority students go to schools with lower level education, they don"t have as much experience as the majority students that go to high quality schools. Race admissions will give those poorer minorities a little boost so they"re at the same level as the more dominant races. Race admissions takes into account whether or not the family is poor, different upbringings, etc. so it won"t just be the RICH minorities getting in, but rather the POORER minorities. According to the Apollo Group National Poll November 2012: When asked what would be the most effective way to reduce the income gap between minorities & majorities, nearly 70% of all minorities chose "increasing the # of minority graduates from college", & 66% of them listed race admissions as the way to achieve it. 2. It spreads more racial diversity. By 2050 our nation will have no clear racial or ethnic majority. Communities of color are tomorrow"s leaders, & we need to better prepare our future workforce. Colleges are the training ground for today"s graduates. According to the Meredith Report: Shows that the overall academic & social effects of increased racial diversity on campus are likely to be positive, ranging from higher levels of academic achievement to the improvement of near- & long-term intergroup relations. As I said before, this proves that racial diversity not only prepares the student for later life, it actually shows scientific benefits, & race admissions would provide this! According to a Forbes survey: 85% of respondents said diversity is crucial for their businesses Approximately 75% indicated that their companies will put more focus during the next 3 yrs to leverage diversity to achieve their business goals. This shows that race diversity is important & this is why we should have race admissions: it will spread racial diversity. Diversity on college campuses isn"t just a the training ground to the real world. Learning with people from a variety of backgrounds encourages collaboration & fosters innovation, thereby benefitting all students. 3. It is legally justified. Let me reiterate the topic. It SPECIFICALLY states whether or not race admissions is JUSTIFIED, & for the purpose of this debate race admissions IS justified. It has been ruled legal by not just one, but 2 Supreme Ct. cases. According to 1976 Bakke v. Univ. of California: The Supreme Ct. ruled race admission constitutional & therefore legal. It is the law of the land, & if it rules race admissions justified, you have to understand that it IS accepted & is thus justification is proven. Because of our history of discrimination, race does matter in our culture. Our communities are still highly segregated. There is a very strong correlation of segregation by race & poverty among minorities. That is why Race and Class are inseparable. Even 60 years after Brown v Board of Education, we are finding that 70% of minorities go to schools where they are the majority. Thank you.