Writing Project 3

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What Colleges Really Want

Devin Magnani | English | May 9, 2016

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Table of Contents

Writing Project 3 Topic ...................................................................................................................................2
Original Image.................................................................................................................................................3
Annotated Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 4
Visual Argument ............................................................................................................................................ 6
What Colleges Are Really Looking For ..........................................................................................................7
Works Cited................................................................................................................................................... 10

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Writing Project 3 Topic
My project will discuss the use of affirmative action as a means of college admissions
requirement. I will use my visual argument to argue that affirmative action should not be
used in the admissions process.

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Original Image

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Annotated Bibliography
Flagg, J. M.. Uncle Sam. Poster. 1917, National Museum of American History,

Washington D. C..
Uncle Sam was a poster viewed as a national personification of the American
government and the United States public, according to legend; it came into use during the
War of 1812 and was supposedly named for Samuel Wilson. Uncle Sam represents a
manifestation of patriotic emotion. This poster was used as propaganda during World
War I and World War 2. The purpose of the poster was to try to get young men to join the
military and to fight for their country. The original Uncle Sam picture has been modified
and used countless times since its creation for many similar purposed since it is a pivotal
image in our society, and will be continued to be used as an impactful image as we
continue on through history as a country.
Dujack, Raymond L.. “Race as a Factor in College Admissions” The New York
Times, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, 19 June 2011. Web. 20 June 2011.
In this article, Raymond Dujack is expressing his feelings on how diversity gives
those
with “rich opportunities” to learn from those who have been less fortunate just by being
around them. He states “the Common Application has erred by choosing race, rather than
ethnicity, as a surrogate for diversity”, because he feels that race is merely a genetic
attribute, whereas ethnicity gives an insight into manners and cultural history. Dujack
also covers how the “white race” ranges all the way from the United States to Norway,
the Middle East, Russia, and Armenia, and how the label of white for all of those
countries is too broad.

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Hopper, Briallen. “How Diversity Plays Out on Campus”. The New York Times,
Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, 19 Dec. 2015. Web. 20 Dec 2015.
Briallen Hopper starts her article by stating that schools like Princeton and Yale a
student of color is the only nonwhite person in the room continuously. She references a
former black student of hers who wrote that they did not have a black teacher, ever, until
he was 20. She then expresser her opinion that “Students of color at predominantly white
institutions are in fact dealing with ‘diversity’ every day, and the only way to stop it is
through affirmative action in the schools admission process.

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Visual Argument

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What Colleges Are Really Looking For

Ever since the beginning of man, access to education and knowledge have been
one of the most valued and sought after commodities. Even though an education is
practically standard in most societies today, it has not always been like that. With this
longing for knowledge came this feeling of entitlement for those who were able to get it,
and that feeling is what caused the segregation and discrimination of other races in the
education system. This essay will give a brief history of racial biases in college
admissions, both sides to the argument of affirmative action, and what will make this
topic relevant ten years from now.

Discrimination in education is not something that is new to society and can be
found all throughout history. In 1950, Heman Marion Sweatt, a black, first-generation
student was rejected to the University of Texas Law School. He then sued the State of
Texas because at the time, no law school in Texas would admit black or “negro” students.
This lawsuit started a massive chain of events that lead to the first ruling on the “separate
but equal” doctrine. Even though the Civil Rights Act passed and racial discrimination is
illegal, there are still examples as to how it still exists today. In 1992 Cheryl Hopwood, a
white female, was denied admittance to the University of Texas Law School. She claimed
that her rejection was because she had been unfairly discriminated against, since she
would not help the school’s racial diversity statistic. After many separate trials, the
appeals court ruled that the University of Texas policy violated the rights of Hopwood
and many others who have been rejected to schools for similar reasons. This ruling sent a
shockwave throughout the United States higher education system.

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The anti-affirmative action side has many well found and valid points to make. In
an article written by Raymond Dujack, he expresses his feelings on how diversity gives
those with “rich opportunities” a chance to learn from those who have been less fortunate
just by being around them. He states, “The Common Application has erred by choosing
race, rather than ethnicity, as a surrogate for diversity”, because he feels that race is
merely a genetic attribute, whereas ethnicity gives an insight into manners and cultural
history. Dujack also covers how the “white race” ranges all the way from the United
States to Norway, the Middle East, Russia, and Armenia, and how the label of white for
all of those countries is too broad. Another valid point that used is how the actual action
of affirmative action is discriminative itself. Affirmative action is a policy of favoring
members of specific groups who currently suffer or historically have suffered from
discrimination within a culture, which results in the discrimination of those who have not
been discriminated against.

The pro-affirmative action has many points as well. Contrasting the viewpoint
previously discussed, Briallen Hopper writes a completely contrasting article. Her article
discusses how schools like Princeton and Yale a student of color is the only nonwhite
person in the room continuously how that can be detrimental to students’ desire to have a
sense of belonging in their environment. Hopper references a former black student of hers
who wrote that they did not have a black teacher, ever, until he was 20, and how that
student felt like it portrayed his race as being less than the race of those who have been
teaching him. She then expresses her opinion that “Students of color at predominantly
white institutions are in fact dealing with ‘diversity’ every day, and the only way to stop
it is through affirmative action. Another valid point is that Affirmative Action is one of

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the only things that are giving women an equal chance to be accepted into top tier
universities.

The argument of whether Affirmative action should be implemented in
admissions programs is a major debate in society today and nothing will change that.
People will always have their opinion on whether affirmative action levels out the
playing field or if it tilts the scales and makes it completely one sided. In ten years from
now there will still be students applying to schools and feel as though they have less of a
chance to be accepted to their desired university, and that will remain true whether
affirmative action is still being implemented in college admission processes or not.

In conclusion, I chose this this topic because it is something that directly applies
to me and will continue to apply to millions of students who are trying to seek a form of
higher education. There are many things that people feel entitled to in society today, and
the ability to obtain a form of higher education is one of them. That entitlement has, and
will continue to cause two conflicting sides since members of specific groups in society
always feel as though they are more entitled to specific things than others groups are. The
issue of affirmative action and discrimination in college admissions is not new to the
world we live in and it will not got away anytime soon, because individuals of our society
will feel as though they are more deserving of things than others are.

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Works Cited
Dujack, Raymond L.. “Race as a Factor in College Admissions” The New York
Times, 19 June 2011. Web. 20 June 2011.
Flagg, J. M.. Uncle Sam. Poster. 1917, National Museum of American History,
Washington D. C..
Hopper, Briallen. “How Diversity Plays Out on Campus”. The New York
Times,19 Dec. 2015. Web. 20 Dec 2015.

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