CAMRY DEAN
Staff Writer
Tonight, Wednesday, Nov. 16, the Philosophy Department and the Philosophical Society will be sponsoring a debate titled “Is Affirmative Action Justified?”
Affirmative action can be described as “policy of favoring members of a disadvantaged group who currently suffer or historically have suffered from discrimination within a culture,” and the debate will revolve around whether or not affirmative action is appropriate in employment and college settings.
Stephen Kershnar, the chair of the Department of Philosophy, will be debating against affirmative action.
In an article written for the Dunkirk Observer in September, Kershnar explained the reaction of affirmative action for past injustices.
“Rice University professor George Sher recently argued that universities are not really interested in diversity because it promotes various ideas or perspectives. There are a lot of different ideas universities could promote via preferential admission,” Kershnar wrote. “The choice to largely favor two minority groups, [blacks and Hispanics], and sometimes women is not about ideas or perspectives, he notes, but rather about making up for past injustice.”
If compensation is in fact owed, Kershnar also believes that it’s impossible to determine the amount and believes a monetary compensation would benefit groups better than affirmative action.
“Even if compensation were owed and the amount discoverable, it is fairer and efficient to pay it via money than affirmative action. It is fairer because many blacks and Hispanics do not go to universities or apply for jobs that have affirmative action, and it is unfair that they get little, if any, compensation. It is more efficient because selecting less talented people is costly,” Kershnar wrote.
Kershnar also believes that standards are being lowered for affirmative action, and he doesn’t agree with them.
“The general concern is the idea that we are going to use different standards, and what seems to mean a lower set of standards, for some individuals who are applying for a job, position or for an educational spot,” Kershnar said.
Kershnar also wrote in his article that “lowered standards for university positions or jobs is not an appropriate response to past injustice.”
Opposing Kershnar, Robert Dahlgren, the chair of the Curriculum and Instruction Department, will be presenting a case in favor of affirmative action.
For 13 years, Dahlgren has taught in public schools and is now working on his 12th year at the university level and he believes affirmative action policies are crucial to diversity and opportunity.
“What I’m going to try and explain [at the debate] is the policy itself, where it comes from and that it merges from the civil rights struggle,” Dahlgren said, “it’s written into the Civil Rights Act signed by President Johnson in 1964 and that it’s thoroughly integrated into the fiber of employment law and education law.
“We essentially do it for three reasons,” Dahlgren continued. “We do it because we think it’s consistent with American values, trying to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We do it because we think it’s fair, and I know that there are objections to that and the reason why it’s controversial. My third point will be that we think diversity in a positive thing.”
Dahlgren plans to use examples from his years in education to solidify his case.
“There are times where we need to note differences between people, to discriminate. It’s something we need to do called ‘positive discrimination,’” he said.
Positive discrimination, like affirmative action, is giving opportunity and advantages to marginalized groups.
“On a campus [like Fredonia], it benefits all of us to be around people of a diverse group, not just of diverse ideas,” Dahlgren said. “It’s one of the reasons I like doing debates like this is that we share differences in ideas but also differences in experience and perspective. I think the research in education supports that idea, that our students benefit from [diversity].”
The debate will be held in the Science Center, room 105, at 7 p.m. tonight.