'Socioeconomic status'

     A lot of people are missing the point in the debate over affirmative action. At its core, affirmative action is not about race or ethnicity. It is about socioeconomic status. Individuals who are raised in affluent families have tremendous advantages over those who are not as fortunate. This advantage manifests itself in a number of tangible ways, including access to education. "Merit" is as much related to background and environment as it is to any innate quality or ability.

     There is a direct linear relationship between family socioeconomic status and scores on tests such as the SAT and the ACT. Students from more affluent families do better on these tests. It is also a reality that minorities are more heavily represented in the lower socioeconomic classes than are their non-minority counterparts. By continuing to overemphasize standardized test scores in their admissions decisions, colleges and universities are, in fact, perpetuating discrimination and racism.

     As long as our society refuses to acknowledge, much less address, the underlying problem, then we will need affirmative action in one form or another.