This lower bar stokes racial tension. Some whites now believe, accurately or not, that they have replaced blacks as the primary victims of racial discrimination in America. Racial preferences arguably divide us more than they unite us.

In 1964 Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, “It is a simple matter of justice that America, in dealing creatively with the task of raising the Negro from backwardness, should also be rescuing a large stratum of the forgotten white poor.” Fifty years later, affirmative action is failing to raise the poor, both black and white.

To truly level the playing field, we need to reweight racial and socioeconomic admissions preferences to reflect their relative contributions to educational disadvantage. Race-neutral criteria could preserve significant racial diversity. We should also scrutinize legacy and athletic preferences.

Affirmative action, however, is one of society’s least effective and most costly equalizers. We should instead pursue aggressive social initiatives, like education reform, increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit, and improving job training. Every poor American, regardless of skin color, deserves a fairer chance at success.

Wyatt N. Troia ’14, a Crimson editorial writer, is an economics concentrator in Winthrop House. His column appears on alternate Fridays.