How does one defend Affirmative Action?

People who defend Affirmative Action will say that it levels the playing field. They'll tell you that white students have many advantages that black and Hispanic students don't: they tend to come from wealthier families and thus have access to better schools, more extracurricular activities, private tutoring/coaching, college-educated parents, family connections to colleges, etc. Compared to black or Hispanic students, who (in general) are more likely to come from single-parent families, live in poorer areas and attend schools with fewer resources, have parents who never went to college, or don't speak English, and thus don't understand what is required to get into college... it's a lot easier for white students to achieve the "merit" that colleges look for.

You don't know that your friends got in due to AA. When universities accept students, it's based on more than just their test scores and grades. It could be that their essays were stronger than yours, or their recommendations were better, or their background/ECs more intriguing. I've seen students from Maine get into colleges in CA because they add geographic diversity, tuba players get into a school because the band *really* needs a tuba player that year, men get into newly co-ed schools because the school is actively seeking men, and white students get into historically black universities because they add diversity to the campus.

The thing about AA is that it was designed to address historical wrongs. Remember that for hundreds of years, blacks were not allowed into most US unis. In fact, that's why the HBCUs were developed - because black students were barred from "white" unis. As were women. And Jews. And... So AA was developed to help even out that playing field.

But today, should AA be used in college admissions? Should race be considered? And AA is being challenged in the courts right now, so your question is quite timely. The Supreme Court, in this very term, is looking at a case that could eliminate the use of race in uni admissions. It's fascinating; and you may want to read up on it, if you haven't already. Things may be about to change massively in terms of college admissions.

AA was a decent enough idea a few decades ago, but it's time has passed. Now it is just another form of discrimination.