The benefits of affirmative action are not merely limited to the minorities who are accepted to highly selective colleges in greater numbers. Campus diversity has a positive effect on every student.
One study found that students in the most diverse school environments “showed the greatest engagement in active thinking processes, growth in intellectual engagement and motivation, and growth in intellectual and academic skills,” which sounds like a list straight from any college’s mission statement. Another found that interactions with people of different races improve “students’ retention, overall satisfaction with college, intellectual self-concept, and social self-concept.” In other words, diversity as an effect of affirmative action can make a student’s college years more of what they are supposed to be—periods of learning, creativity, and enjoyment.
Additionally, diversity in schools ensures that students are prepared for the increasing diversity in the global workforce, allowing them to become more successful in their trade and collaboration with people of differing races and ethnicities. Research also suggests that diverse schools can reduce individuals’ racial prejudices, build their leadership skills, and even limit symptoms of anxiety. It’s evident that affirmative action is necessary, not just for the greater levels of socioeconomic mobility it gives to racial minorities, but also for the various ways in which it can improve students’ learning, happiness, and character.
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