During an appearance on “Dr. Phil” on Wednesday, Candace Owens, who is a host on The Daily Wire, strongly criticized affirmative action policies as “harmful” and degrading.
During the show, Owens appeared alongside two professors who were defending affirmative action policies. However, Owens challenged the conventional narrative that affirmative action benefits minorities, instead arguing that such policies place a “burden of responsibility” on the Left and are often more harmful than helpful.
“When you artificially place a black American into a school in which they do not belong based on their knowledge, it doesn’t mean that they go on to get A’s,” Owens argued. “In fact, there was a black adjunct professor, you guys have definitely heard of him, Dr. Thomas Sowell, who was teaching at Cornell University and he found that the majority of the black American students that were there were on academic probation.”
Owens elaborated that although these students were among the brightest in the country, they were put on academic probation due to being placed in positions they did not earn through their own merit, thanks to affirmative action policies. She added that the outcomes of these policies were not successful for minorities but rather for politicians or administrators who claimed victory for policies that merely gave people a false sense of accomplishment and made them “feel good.”
Owens further argued that affirmative action advocates often end up causing harm to the very individuals the policies are intended to assist. When it comes down to it, “you either know the answers, or you don’t,” she said.
Dr. John Pascarella, a panel member and professor who serves as the Chief Academic Officer for the Race and Equity Center at the University of Southern California, voiced his support for affirmative action policies aimed at “institutions that have historically excluded people of color.”
When Owens challenged Pascarella’s stance by citing how affirmative action has been “factually, in effect, a bad thing for the black community,” the professor questioned whether race was the only factor that determined success.
“No, it’s due to their intellectual capabilities, which is how students should be judged,” Owens argued, adding that using merit as a guide effectively guarantees “equal policy” for students, not affirmative action.
Owens argued that the very premise of affirmative action was degrading since its proponents were essentially claiming that minorities could not achieve certain goals without the help of mostly white benefactors, the Daily Wire noted.
“I don’t think Sasha and Malia Obama are people that have struggled, and therefore should be allowed to get into the college, universities on a higher basis than white kids that have worked harder than them,” Owens continued.
Dr. J. Luke Wood, a professor at San Diego State University, countered Owens’ remarks by suggesting that poor performance by affirmative action beneficiaries could be attributed to their experiences at the institutions in question.
“You’re saying ‘could be,’ I’m giving you actual facts,” Owens fired back. “We can fantasize and say ‘maybe they just don’t feel good,’ but that’s not the case.”
“We’re talking about a cultural problem, what’s going on back at home, as was in my circumstance,” Owens added. “None of that is because of institutionalized policy.”
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