Since the 1960s, affirmative action has been the face of public controversy regarding equity among women and minorities. Many people have opposed this ideal because of issues arising among those who feel like they will be oppressed under affirmative action. 

Affirmative action is aimed to put practices in place in order to provide equal opportunities to those who face discrimination. Underrepresented groups are able to have the ability to have an education and be employed through affirmative action programs which includes colleges and universities. 

Colleges began to put in place affirmative action to help students who apply to colleges who may be in minority groups and find it difficult to be admitted into colleges. 

However in June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admission policies violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment which ended affirmative action in college admissions. 

Many students and parents were outraged by this ruling because they felt like their opportunity to get into a school would decline and that colleges would start to become less diverse. 

Seniors Carys Cho and Gabriella Hernandez believe that affirmative action is necessary for those who cannot share their voices to colleges because they are subjected to discrimination. 

Carys Cho claims that “affirmative action gives the opportunity to underrepresented groups to share their talents and skills because they weren’t able to do so before…it doesn’t take away the opportunity from a white student to be admitted into the college.”

Gabriella Hernandez remarks that affirmative action “does not put whites and minorities against each other but rather puts them on the same level playing field.”

Here at Bethpage High School, students and teachers mostly support affirmative action because of the wide diverse population of students that attend the school and it seems that Bethpage students push for equal opportunities for every student.