SCOTUS Ruling on Affirmative Action Could Give Private Universities Advantage

[BainsBane]

The Supreme Court, in a 7-1 decision with Justice Ginsburg dissenting, has issued a ruling in the Fisher v. University of Texascase that will likely require public universities to explore virtually all race-neutral alternatives in their attempts to achieve diversity before being able to use race as a factor in admissions.

The ruling was probably the result of a compromise that, while not overturning previous decisions and not ruling that UT’s use of race is unconstitutional, will nevertheless lead to greater difficulty for colleges that want to use race as a factor in admissions.

The decision vacates the ruling in favor of UT Austin by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and remands the case to the circuit court with instructions to apply "strict scrutiny" to the university’s rationale for using race as an admissions factor.

The decision by Justice Kennedy says that the circuit court gave too much deference to the university's claim that its use of race was "narrowly tailored" to serve the university's goal of racial diversity. The circuit court erred in ruling that UT Austin only had to make a "good faith" effort to demonstrate its need for race-conscious admissions practices and to show that the tailoring of race-conscious procedures was appropriately narrow in scope.

http://hnn.us/articles/scotus-ruling-affirmative-action-could-give-private-universities-advantage

[starroute]

1. Do I understand right -- they can have racial diversity as a goal...

...but they're told to avoid using race as a way of achieving it?

[BainsBane]

2. Yes, and UT had a point system in which race was only one of many

many factors. It was the most mild of efforts at Affirmative Action, since they have been legally challenged so many times. I'll also note that none of the students who have sued UT (where the Law School or undergraduate school) alleging they didn't get in because of their race have been able to get in even when race is not considered at all.

UT has no shortage of white students. The notion that these kids who don't even graduate in the top 10% of a high school class in Texas conclude that their whiteness is the reason they weren't admitted is just absurd.