Nine years ago, the Supreme Court made a decision that allowed public colleges and universities to take race into account when making admissions decisions. Last Tuesday, however, the court agreed to hear a case from a white student involving race-conscious admissions at the University of Texas.
The case, Fisher vs. University of Texas, involves a college senior named Abigail Fisher. According to the L.A. Times, Abigail was not admitted to the University of Texas in 2008. Her grades were not good enough to put her in the top 10% of her class (which, as per the “Top Ten Plan” in Texas, automatically allows entry into all public universities in the state of Texas), but she said her tests and grades “exceeded those of many of the admitted minority candidates.” She sued, citing racial discrimination that undermined the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws.
By agreeing to hear this case, the Supreme Court has agreed to reconsider affirmative action practices at all public universities and colleges in America.
Lee Bollinger, the president of Columbia University, told the NY Times that she feels as though eliminating affirmative action would be ominous. “It threatens to undo several decades of effort within higher education to build a more integrated and just and educationally enriched environment,” she said.
Hans von Spakovsky, a legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, is in support of eliminating affirmative action. His daughter is applying to college this year. “Any form of discrimination, whether it’s for or against, is wrong,” he said. “The idea that she might be discriminated against and not be admitted because of her race is incredible to me.”
Whether individuals are in support of eliminating affirmative action or in support of maintaining a university’s ability to be aware of their applicants’ race, both sides agree that the consequences of limiting affirmative action would be huge. Without it, the number of African American and Latino students at nearly every selective college and graduate school in the nation would be reduced. The number of white students and Asian-American students would almost certainly increase.