You're right, whites don't own those spots. However, the majority of qualified applicants applying to good schools are white. Likewise, the majority of qualified applicants getting rejected are white. The simple fact is that affirmative action has kept white applicants from being accepted. The question is whether less qualified minorities have been given their "spot." I imagine the answer is yes, but that isn't my immediate concern. Schools in the past have been fairly open about accepting the minority candidate over a white one when their qualifications are identical. In the UM case, the school claimed this was to foster diversity on campus, which can provide an environment conducive for education. However, my opinion is that such practices constitute racial discrimination, and that the practices do not serve the purpose of "fostering diversity" any better than accepting the white applicant would, considering the broad diversity that exists among whites.
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