TOW #24: Racial Equality Loses at the Court by the Editorial Board at The New York Times (Article)

     Goals: 

-find a topic for article that I wouldn't normally choose

-pick stronger words throughout

-adequately tie each piece of evidence to thesis

         The discussion of whether race and sex should be considered in the college application process has always been a controversial topic. Many see the selection of students by their race as extremely unethical. Personally, as a high school junior preparing for the college application process, I find it unsettling that another applicant may be chosen over me just because they are of a different race. In the New York Times article, Racial Equality Loses at the Court, the issue of racial inequality is addressed. An act was passed that took away the racial and sex –based bias from high education admittance system and brought about a great amount of controversy. The Editorial Board at the New York Times wrote this article to express how racial inequality should be confronted in order to obtain actual equality in the United States.

            The authors incorporated multiple court cases that revolve around the validity of the amendment that took away the consideration of race and sex. A ruling was made that took away this amendment for a short period of time, but “In Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, the Supreme Court reversed the ruling and allowed the amendment to stand”. By incorporating the rulings of court cases like Schuette v. Coalition, the NY Times is able to show the controversy surrounding present day racial inequality.

            Many court justices were quoted in the article to allow readers to see the contrasting views of the issue at hand.  Justice Arthur Kennedy supported the amendment and saw it as a basic use of democratic power; while Justice Sonia Sotomayor disagreed. She believed that “while the Constitution does not guarantee minority groups victory in the political process, it does guarantee them meaningful and equal access to that process”.  Both opinions help all readers interested in this topic that there are many opinions on how to deal with racial inequality.

            The Editorial Board did a wonderful job supporting the idea that racial inequalities need to be confronted and gave insight into the recent racial issue in the field of higher education.