11 Reader Views on Affirmative Action
Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.
This is the second batch of reader responses to the Supreme Court’s affirmative-action decision. Batch one is here.
Replies have been edited for length and clarity.
Matt argues that the stakes are lower than many think:
I find the competition for all the elite schools really out of touch with the reality of most people. As a high schooler, I bombed the SAT. I hadn’t figured anything out in my life, so I decided to do two years at a community college, then transfer to a larger state school in rural Appalachia. I did well and graduated with honors. Everyone should get a fair shake at life. But when you have to divvy up a limited number of spots, there’s going to be some winners and losers. It’s just that some of the “losers” in the competition for admissions to Harvard are going to end up attending their secondary-choice Ivy on full rides.
Lucretia laments the decision:
It seems to me that affirmative action is an attempt to make up for the failure to provide basic services in
