ABSTRACT
Few topics in the last several decades have been more divisive and controversial than the debate surrounding affi rmative action; particularly the use of affi rmative action in higher education. As the previous chapter explained, access to higher education can have a signifi cant impact on the quality of one’s life. For a person from an impoverished or even a modest background, access to higher education can be the key which opens the door to fi nancial security, upper social mobility, self-actualization, community development and uplift , and entrance into America’s power structure. For those already at the top of the nation’s social hierarchy, access to higher education, particularly the most elite schools, helps ensure one maintains one’s place.
