Expanded Opportunities: Protected Groups

Until fairly recently, the vast majority of U.S. college and university students were white
men. At key points in the last 150 years, enrollment changed to include more women
and people of color. However, even with greater overall participation in higher
education, women and African-Americans had limited opportunities until the 1950s and
1960s. Members of other racial and ethnic groups also have experienced quotas or
other limits on their full participation in higher education. In many cases, being married,
being a parent, or having a particular political affiliation was a cause for discrimination.
As a result of several landmark events, many groups became “protected classes” and
have been provided with greater opportunities through the force of law. Many states
have passed additional laws, and individual colleges and universities have enacted
policies prohibiting discrimination in other areas, including sexual orientation, gender
identity, and even genetic information.
As defined by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (n.d.), protected
classes in federal law are:
The groups protected from the [ sic ] employment discrimination by law. These groups
include men and women on the basis of sex; any group which shares a common race,
religion, color, or national origin; people over 40; and people with physical or mental
[disabilities]. Every U.S. citizen is a member of some protected class, and is entitled to
the benefits of EEO [Equal Employment Opportunity] law. However, the EEO laws were
passed to correct a history of unfavorable treatment of women and minority group
members.
Complete the following for this discussion:
● Choose a federally protected class or another group that has experienced
discrimination in higher education to write about for your initial post, and find
at least two scholarly articles related to that group’s evolving access to
opportunity. Begin your search by accessing the ED5570: Higher Education in
the United States Library Guide (linked in Resources).
● Based on your reading this week and in the articles that you find, identify the
most important landmark events that provided opportunities for this group,
such as the passage of federal law, a court decision, or a destiny-changing
occurrence within a political or social movement.
● Describe the event or events you believe had the greatest bearing on
enabling this group to access higher education in the United States. Analyze
the nature of the event involved and address the following:
○ Which of these events would you say primarily resulted from social
changes? Why?
○ Which events would you say were primarily economically oriented?
Why?
○ Which events would you describe as politically based? Why?