This case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 1978, should be considered one of those that handle complex issues like race and educational access. But as a representative of the University of California, I argue that our diversity program is great and that it serves the interests of the larger society reflected in the Fair Housing Act of 1968. That law has become an important guide toward understanding the need and the justification for action policies in education, since both want to take apart the different structures in society and open the way to equal opportunity.
The Fair Housing Act of 1968 represented one of the major legislative milestones of the Civil Rights era, it aimed to end discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It was supposed to overcome racial segregation in housing and provide equal opportunities in housing for those groups that had suffered most from the bad treatment of the past. The diversity program of the University of California tries to correct educational problems created by history of racial and the social and economic inequalities. In the same way that the Fair Housing Act recognizes that equal opportunity to housing is important, so is our diversity program to an open society.
Both the Fair Housing Act and the University of California's diversity program are based upon a system that has discrimination barriers to opportunity. The Act recognizes that discriminatory practices in housing have a lot of effects on a community, affecting not only where people live, but also where they go to school, where they work, and the quality of their life. The diversity program, through the University of California, recognizes that historical and systemic inequalities, especially in education, may demand that students of the underrepresented populations through different actions to help ensure higher educational access. Having other diverse voices and perspectives helps the learning environment, the educational setting will be better because a learning atmosphere helps benefits all students.
The Critics of affirmative action can argue that frequently that the programs involve reverse discrimination, where applicants like Allan Bakke are denied admissions based on their race. However, what has be made clear is that the diversity program do not intend to put any group at a disadvantage. The idea is to level the playing field for everyone. The Fair Housing Act is not intended to punish anyone for their race, but to balance inequality that racial and know what discrimination has produced.
The consequences of segregation in housing do not stop at who is or is not prevented from entering a house but affects the living atmosphere and affects educational goals. The Fair Housing Act recognizes that when people of color are excluded from certain neighborhoods, they are often excluded from the resources and opportunities that come with living in those areas, including access to better schools. The University of California's diversity program wants to take down these effects by creating a student body that reflects some great diversity of California's population. But this is not only a benefit for the underrepresented students, it helps create the educational experience for all students in preparing them for a diverse world.
The connection between the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the University of California's diversity program both come from a common concern for bad system with discrimination. Both of them want to help right historical wrongs and provide access to opportunities for underrepresented groups. In defending the diversity program based on facts of the Fair Housing Act, we want everyone to know that promoting diversity in higher education is not a question of the policy choice, but a moral thing that is consistent with our nation's larger goals toward equality and justice. Just as the Fair Housing Act helped transformed communities, so will the University of California's commitment to diversity transform lives and help create a more just society.
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