Affirmative Action Essay. Pick One of the following topics and write a 2-3 page (single spaces, 12 point font, Times New Roman) essay using what you learned throughout the semester to explain how you would address the issue. What is background of the issue? What can be done? How would you fund the effort? What population would this affect?
Why Is Affirmative Action So Controversial and Do We Still Need It?
What’s It About? Affirmative action was established after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a corrective to better balance historic prejudice against disadvantaged applicants for employment and admissions to college. The Issue? Do we still need affirmative action?
- Outline the terms of the debate regarding affirmative action in college admissions using the facts of the Supreme Court case in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003).
- What is meant by “positive discrimination”?
- Explain structural racism in terms of racial versus socioeconomic diversity.
- In our increasingly diverse society, why should one group, or class, of college applicants be treated differently than others?
Is Discrimination Ever Legal?
What’s It About? Who knew? Discrimination—the unequal treatment of a person or persons on the basis of age, disability, ethnicity, national origin, race, religious belief, sex, or sexual identity—can be legal in specific circumstances. The Issue? When is it OK to discriminate? Affirmative Action Essay.
- Identify some of the circumstances in which a group of persons may be lawfully discriminated against. What reasons for discrimination will the courts uphold?
- Explain the claims of discrimination that underlie the Masterpiece Cakeshop suit.
- Do sincere religious beliefs exempt restaurant owners from adhering to anti-discrimination law if their beliefs permit them, for example, to single out some groups for privileged treatment or to refuse to serve other groups?
- Should the First Amendment right to free speech outweigh the First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion, or to any other right protected by the First Amendment, when those rights come into conflict?
What’s Next for Political Parties in America?
What’s It About? Any consideration of the two-party system and its durability over the course of U.S. history surely touches on all the following and more: the functions of political parties, trends in party identification among American voters today, and third parties. The Issue? How will each party define itself for the next generation? Affirmative Action Essay.
- What are some of the possible reasons why over 40 percent of Americans don’t identify themselves as either Republicans or Democrats?
- Can you provide examples of the four functions of political parties itemized in the video—mobilize voters, recruit candidates, facilitate governance, and monitor opposing party—at work?
- What are the arguments for and against third-party solutions to issues in American politics?
- Are you registered to vote? If not, why not?
What Is the Filibuster and How Is It Being Used?
What’s It About? The filibuster is a tool that allows U.S. senators to halt progress on legislation by engaging in extensive debate. The Issue? Once universally acknowledged as a means of protecting minority rights and of facilitating compromise, filibusters are now often derided as grossly unfair. Is the filibuster a legislative atrocity? Use APA referencing style.
https://mediaplayer.pearsoncmg.com/assets/_video.true/mypoliscilab-2017-AmGov-Filibuster
- What is the relationship between the filibuster and the rights of the party in the minority?
- How does cloture work?
- What is the so-called nuclear option? How did the nuclear option affect the nomination and eventual confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court?
- Do the merits of the filibuster outweigh its defects, and would you support or oppose the elimination of the Senate rule that permits filibusters?
