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Volume 94 Friday |
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Union society debates affirmative action, Carnall Hall Crowd deadlocks on affirmative action debate La'Shara Doss The audience at the Arkansas Union Society debate had a 58-58 split vote regarding its main debate regarding affirmative action. "I cannot believe that there was a split vote on affirmative action," Danelle Jackson said. "I just assumed that everyone wanted affirmative action for all races and genders." The main debate about affirmative action Wednesday stated that the house would end affirmative action. The house defined affirmative action as preferential treatment to minorities by government regulations on hiring practices. "We feel that affirmative action should end because it degrades public policy, degrades the economy, and it is illegal," Kristen Morgan said. Morgan argued that affirmative action is dividing the nation and the school and job placement goals. She also said it is not fair for anyone to be punished because of affirmative action. "Hiring minorities just to meet a company's quota is saying that minorities are not competent enough to get hired on their own abilities," Morgan said. Morgan said affirmative action did not end discrimination for genders or races. She said it has only added to the problem. Morgan said people have shifted the control strictly to the hands of the majority and has caused further discrimination problems. She also argued that affirmative action is illegal because it goes against the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. "We need affirmative action because it is obvious that there is still a problem with discrimination in our country," said Steve Fox, the leader of the opposition. Fox said there is still a problem with discrimination and people should identify the problems and resolve them. Fox backed up his argument with the results of Texas and California both outlawing affirmative action. He said there was a significant decrease in school admissions and job placement opportunities for minorities. He said the problem could be resolved if affirmative action can be used to help minorities move forward in society. The debate continued with other arguments from Keith Emis, a supporter of ending affirmative action, and Shannon Humphrey, a speaker who supported affirmative action. The split vote at the end of the debate cause the debaters to conclude that some students felt that affirmative action is efficient while others believed it is not necessary. |
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