I’m writing this article in response to Ms. Wine’s interesting assumption on affirmative action in last week’s Pacer.

If affirmative action is what you think it is, then the biggest form of it is your white skin, so why are you outraged at a system that benefits, for a change, someone other than yourself?

It is very common for individuals to develop opinions, concerning issues with race and gender, which are completely false. The truth of the matter is that affirmative action has been in effect for 30 years, yet minorities remain to be underemployed and poorly represented in institutions of higher learning.

A popular myth among many obtuse thinkers is that affirmative action calls for a less qualified minority to be accepted or employed over a more qualified non-minority. If this myth is true, then the minority would have become the majority a long time ago, anyone with common sense knows that this has and will never happen.

The belief that a minority can only be successful through reverse discrimination and not by their qualifications is an assumption and you know what they about assuming. I am a “proud black man” that can honestly say that my intellectual capacity qualifies me to be a UTM student as much as any student.

Affirmative action is defined as specific actions in recruitment, hiring, upgrading and other areas designed and taken for the purpose of eliminating the present effects of past discrimination or to prevent discrimination. America’s historical affinity racism and sexism make affirmative action an absolute necessity in that it establishes a system of diversity where it wouldn’t normally be allowed.

Many naïve individuals believe that when segregation ended, racism also came to an end and all of a sudden all minorities are subject to fair treatment; this belief is a common misconception among many Americans. The “good ole boy” system remains to be alive and well, anyone who denies this fact is either ignorant or in a state of denial.

Let’s not forget that affirmative action is only here because racism and discrimination is still a factor that negatively affects minorities and women to this very day.

If you support affirmative action great, if not, then that’s also fine. The purpose of this article is not to change anyone’s personal views, but only to place emphasis on studying the facts of an issue before publicly expressing one’s inaccurate opinion. I’m not saying that affirmative action doesn’t have it’s flaws, but what’s the alternative for a country where the people are born in a caste system of racism, discrimination, sexism and socioeconomic dilemmas. One with no hope, pride, creativity or social diversity for its inhabitants.

David Stokes Jr. is a senior Criminal Justice major from Memphis.