Tim Belshe Columnist

I'm always appalled when I hear about incidents of racism and sexism occurring in Arizona. I was raised in what I believe is a typical Arizona family, and to discriminate against someone for such a trivial reason was considered absurd and disgusting. In case you're wondering about the April Fools' joke, I was also raised to have a sense of humor.

The idea of affirmative action is appalling, mainly because it is racist. That statement doesn't come from opinion; it comes from a dictionary. Affirmative action differentiates people on the basis of race, and despite your personal opinions on the policy, any reasonable person would have to admit that it is, by definition, racist.

It doesn't make sense that we fight racism with racism. We have laws in this country that make most forms of racism illegal, so why do we need further policies that will "even things out," especially policies that are, themselves, racist?

That is not to say there is no problem in our state in regard to race. Statistics clearly show that minorities are greatly underrepresented in many aspects of our society, including this university.

The idea of affirmative action is appalling, mainly because it is racist. That statement doesn't come from opinion; it comes from a dictionary.

But instead of looking at the real cause of the problem, we've thrown together a policy that betrays our most cherished ideals. Why is it fewer minorities make it to college? It's not directly because of the color of their skin. The people grading the SATs don't automatically deduct 25 percent for every person who doesn't mark the "Caucasian" box on the form.

It's because, as a result of historical and sociological trends, minorities live in areas with poorly funded schools. So now, do we have a racial problem or an economic one? After all, minorities aren't the only ones who don't have access to good schools.

So instead of treating the problem like a purely racial issue, why not address the problem at its source, which is disparity in access to education?

If the university really wants to give every Arizonan equal access to higher education, it should normalize the test scores ÷ or whatever other standards they are looking at ÷ from every high school in the state.

That would put every high school student in Arizona on equal footing in the application process, and without using racist methods.

Just about every other instance where an institution believes it needs affirmative action can be addressed in a similar manner. There is almost always a reason for a lack of minority representation other than pure racism.

On an institutional level, affirmative action is unnecessary.

The problem, many point out, is that not all racism is institutional. There are still a lot of people out there who are racist, and they let that control their behavior toward others.

Many will say that because of these people, we need affirmative action to make sure everyone has equal opportunities.

But the best way to fight racism isn't with more racism. It's illegal in almost every instance, at least in the professional world, for someone to treat a person differently on the basis of race. So when someone unjustly discriminates against another, there should be a legal way to handle the problem.

Of course, it's not practical for an individual to go around suing every single person who violates anti-discrimination laws, but lawsuits aren't the only means of rectifying this problem.

If someone at a company does something racist, tell your friends and boycott the company. The dollar can be a very powerful thing, particularly when a company knows you're taking yours elsewhere.

The fact is, personal bigotry will only be eliminated when people are willing to take a stand against it.

When a person can commit an act of prejudice and get away with it, he or she never has a reason to change.

While conceived with the best intentions to address a critical issue in our society, affirmative action actually betrays the principles we claim to hold most dear.

The issues of racism and sexism must be addressed promptly but responsibly. We cannot allow ourselves to be fooled into handling this situation with only a cursory look at what causes the problem.

Tim Belshe is a systems engineering junior. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.