After reading ch. 7 in Sandels Justice and watching Episode 9, part 1 (first half), answer ONE of the following questions in your short essay
1. Do you have any criticisms of American racial concepts (white, black, Latino/a, etc.) as categories? Explain.
2. Is affirmative action just? Why? If so, when? Bring in Sandel’s arguments (test scores, compensation for past wrongs, equal playing field, etc.) and counterarguments. Does it apply equally to gender and race? Should the focus be on poverty…also?… instead?
3. Which arguments for affirmative action do you find most compelling, and why? What are they? Explain. Clarify if you are focusing on ethnicity/race, or gender, or both?
4. Argue for, or against, affirmative action in the case of ethnicity or gender. If you are arguing against it: address and respond to the counter-claim that being a member of a certain group (gender, race, ability, etc.) CAN be a qualification for a position or job (say, acting as a role model, brining a difference perspective, etc.).
when you go on http://www.justiceharvard.org/watch/
the videos to watch are
Episode 09 1) Affirmative Action (see ch. 7)
PART ONE: ARGUING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Sandel describes the 1996 court case of a white woman named Cheryl Hopwood who was denied admission to a Texas law school, even though she had higher grades and test scores than some of the minority applicants who were admitted. Hopwood took her case to court, arguing the schools affirmative action program violated her rights. Students discuss the pros and cons of affirmative action. Should we try to correct for inequality in educational backgrounds by taking race into consideration? Should we compensate for historical injustices such as slavery and segregation? Is the argument in favor of promoting diversity a valid one? How does it size up against the argument that a students efforts and achievements should carry more weight than factors that are out of his or her control and therefore arbitrary? When a universitys stated mission is to increase diversity, is it a violation of rights to deny a white person admission?
