Affirmative action draws differing reponses from candidates

A saving grace to many, yet a hindrance to others. The debate over affirmative action programs has remained a hotly contested issue since its inception over 30 years ago. Today, the controversy still rages on, though now primarily in the academic community. At Penn, affirmative action is a topic on the forefront of many students' minds -- despite the lack of attention paid to the issue by this year's presidential candidates. "I think it's done a great job at correcting past wrongs," College sophomore Chidinma Ibe said, reflecting the view of many students that affirmative action policies are necessary to help the disadvantaged. However, other students do not believe in the controversial issue. "It's an outdated relic that provides for the few at the expense of the many, with no moral justification," College sophomore Urijah Kaplan said. With opinions on either side of the issue, neither presidential campaign has offered a detailed plan for affirmative action, although Democratic candidate Al Gore spoke on the issue at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles and the convention of the NAACP. If elected, Bush has indicated that he will continue to limit traditional affirmative action policies. Gore has hinted that he will appoint liberal justices, which may sway the Supreme Court to increase affirmative action programs. The Republican candidate, George W. Bush, has said he "opposes quotas and racial preferences," and instead favors what he calls "affirmative access." Gore has said that he will "mend it, not end it." His campaign Web site says that he "will continue to defend programs including those in education, contracting and employment that work well for minorities and women." But as public attention is focused on prescription drug plans and the fate of Social Security, affirmative action appears to be of little concern. "I don't feel it's at stake," said Heather Lyons, a third-year Veterinary student. "Neither [candidate] is saying that they're going to end it." It may not take an executive order, however, to end affirmative action programs. As it stands right now, the Supreme Court is largely against affirmative action, according to Law Professor Ed Baker. "In most respects, affirmative action by the government has been found unconstitutional by the courts," Baker said. Experts have predicted that the next president will appoint two or three new justices to the Supreme Court. Should liberal justices be appointed -- the Court currently has an estimated six- to-three balance against affirmative action, in Baker's estimation -- many affirmative action programs may return. According to Hector Garza, founding president of the non-partisan National Council for Community and Education Partnerships, affirmative action is needed most in the education system. "We know that there are severe inequities in higher education," Garza said. "We must come to grips with the fact that we must start educating all of our citizens." According to Hilary Shelton, director of the Washington bureau of the NAACP, "affirmative action needs to be expanded and more vigorously implemented," as witnessed by past programs' successes. Experts have said that some of Bush's past efforts at affirmative action have not been as effective as possible. When quotas were outlawed at the University of Texas, Bush instituted what he called the "10 percent plan." Under the plan, any student who places in the top 10 percent of his or her high-school graduating class receives automatic acceptance to the state university system. Garza said the plan, though well-received by the Texas public, has not been entirely successful. "I do not believe that you ought to be providing access to a student that is not prepared to succeed in higher education," Garza said. Shelton agreed that the Texas plan is flawed. "The schools still have a tendency to vary from demographic to demographic," he said, suggesting that students from lower income schools are not as well prepared for college as other students. "The 10 percent is going to vary from place to place. We need to make sure that all schools have a higher level of standards."