Re: "King would be against affirmative action," Jan. 27 letter.

Yes, as written, "the day that students receive entry to a university based on their merits alone will be the day King's dream will come true." However, that day is not here, and it's not because of affirmative action.

Despite the disillusionment of many Penn Staters and countless others, including President Bush, racism is not a thing of the past.

Recently, a study from the University of Chicago and MIT concluded that race does matter when applying for jobs. Researchers responded to 5,000 newspaper want ads with resumes listing equal qualifications. Half were sent out with "white" names: Brett, Gregg, Emily, etc. The other half were sent out with "black" names: Tameeka, Ebony, Kareem, etc. The "white" resumes resulted in 150 percent more callbacks then the "black" resumes.

Yes, affirmative action is discrimination too. Yes, we should work to get rid of affirmative action. But today, affirmative action is still vital to providing a leg up to students who have been at a disadvantage since childhood. And until racism is systematically dismantled in America, we will continue to need affirmative action.

Remember that regardless of how you, a white male, act as an individual, you still benefit from a system of advantage based on race. Just because you're not aware of your advantage does not mean it's not there and does not make it any less significant. Affirmative action merely attempts to "make up" for racism by giving an advantage to the disadvantaged.