Majority of Americans oppose the use of affirmative action in college admissions

college degree books

Americans largely believe that students should be accepted to college based on their merits, and not their racial or ethnic heritage.

A recent study by Rasmussen Reports found that 60 percent of American adults believe that universities should admit students based on merit and not race. Twenty-seven percent of Americans approve of race as a criteria for college acceptance and 13 percent were unsure.

“Most Americans believe affirmative action admissions policies discriminate against whites, as the lawsuit argues, and think it’s better for colleges and universities to accept the most qualified students,” the release for the report said.

While the 44 percent of Americans polled who oppose affirmative action practices outright certainly aren’t a majority, it is still a higher percentage than the 25 percent of American adults actually agree with institutions applying any sort of discriminatory practices into college admissions and the 34 percent who are simply undecided.

It’s safe to say that affirmative action support is a race-related issue. Sixty-five percent of African-Americans favor affirmative action, according to the Rasmussen Reports study, while only 49 percent of whites favor the program.

The American people aren’t the only ones questioning affirmative action practices, however.  The Supreme Court is also gearing up to tackle that very issue before its current session comes to a close in June.

Under the school’s currently enforced affirmative action policies, the University of Texas accepts high school students who are in the top 10 percent of their Texas high school class, regardless of race or other factors. Students who fall outside of the top 10 percent at their high schools can be graded on other things, including extracurricular activities and race.

In 2008, then-high school senior Abigail Fisher was sent a rejection letter from the University of Texas despite having participated in many extra-curricular activities in high school.  In return, she sued the university, claiming that she was denied acceptance because she is white.

The Supreme Court will also hear a case over the constitutionality of an amendment to the Michigan State Constitution that prohibits discrimination or the use of preferential treatment in college admissions and public hiring later this year.

Rasmussen Reports surveyed 1,000 adults nationwide between May 28-29, 2013. The study had a margin of error of +/- three percent at a 95 percent level of confidence.

Comments

Polititainment

Cooper, Eastwood met with Kyle's dad

The father of fallen U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle was wary about the making of "American Sniper," but MailOnline reports that he was won over by the face-to-face assurance of the film's star and director that they wouldn't do his son's memory wrong.

'SNL' laughs at North Korea, Sony hacks
“Saturday Night Live” hit on North Korea and the Sony hacks twice this weekend, proving that unlike most of Hollywood, they aren’t scared of Kim Jong-un. The show started off with a bang, bringing back Mike Myers as Dr. Evil to interrupt the cold open and discuss his anger over the North Korea and Sony hacker […]
RNC asks theaters to show 'The Interview
The Sony hack and subsequent cancellation of “The Interview” has gone fully political. President Obama made an official statement on this decision and now the Republican National Committee is weighing in. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus asks that movie theaters not bow down to North Korea and stand up to this decision by screening the film […]
Obama: LeBron 'did the right thing'

President Obama supports LeBron James' decision to wear an "I can't breathe" t-shirt during warmup before the NBA game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets last week.

Al Sharpton, Hollywood's Sony Liaison

In a private meeting with Rev. Al Sharpton at the Greenwich Hotel in New York City Thursday, Sony Pictures chair Amy Pascal told Sharpton that he could have a voice in how the movie studio makes its films.

White House

Obama: Democrats would have done better in midterms if they had run on my record
President Obama is still stinging from his party’s major losses in the 2014 midterm election. In an interview with NPR, Obama said that Democratic candidates would have fared better if they had run on his record. “I’m obviously frustrated with the results of the midterm election,” the president said. “I think we had a great […]
Obama continues to promise to work with Congress, but only if they agree with him
With two years left in his presidency and no more elections holding him back, President Obama is ready to just do what he wants. NPR published the full transcript of their interview with the president Monday morning and interviewer Steve Inskeep seemed to hit the nail on the head when he asked, “Can I think […]
Obama: I will do ‘everything I can’ to close Guantanamo Bay
President Obama may have signed the defense bill that keeps Guantanamo Bay open for another year, but he is still verbally promising to close down the facility. Obama appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday and discussed closing Gitmo by the end of next year with host Candy Crowley. “I’m going to do everything […]
Obama: ‘We’re not going to be intimidated’ by Sony hackers
President Obama appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning and covered a variety of topics ranging from racism to North Korea and the Sony hacks. Obama repeated his earlier statements about the hacks, implying again that Sony made the wrong call by canceling screenings of “The Interview.” “The Boston Marathon suffered an actual […]
Obama: we can’t have censorship subject to ‘some dictator someplace’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama declared Friday that Sony "made a mistake" in shelving a satirical film about a plot to assassinate North Korea's leader, and he pledged the U.S. would respond "in a place and manner and time that we choose" to the hacking attack on Sony that led to the withdrawal. The FBI blamed the hack on the communist government.

Congress

Shorter Bernie Sanders: It doesn't end with O'care

Sen. Bernie Sanders (Socialist-Vt.) has typed what sounds like a campaign platform in the webpages of The Huffington Post, pledging to move policy debates sharply to the left in 2015.

Grimm will resign from Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that N.Y. Rep. Michael Grimm made the right decision by resigning from Congress after pleading guilty to tax evasion charges. Boehner, R-Ohio, said that Grimm’s decision was “honorable,” adding that he knows Grimm made his decision “with the best interests of his constituents and the institution […]
GOP's probe into IRS finds 'culture of bias'
A report from the highly anticipated GOP probe into the Internal Revenue Service was released Tuesday and outgoing House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) slammed the organization for cultivating a “culture of bias.” Issa’s 210-page report says that the IRS is not the neutral tax collector it claims to be, especially at this critical time […]
US Rep. Grimm pleads guilty to federal tax evasion
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm admitted Tuesday to federal tax evasion, pleading guilty to charges he had fought as he won re-election last fall but that now leave his congressional future in question. Asked outside court if he planned to resign his seat, Grimm said no. “I’m going to get back to […]
Rand Paul's Festivus grievances are hilarious

Rand Paul’s Festivus airing of grievances kicked off earlier today, and he has a lot of them