The nation’s highest court is again tackling the question of affirmative action, this time at the country’s colleges, with the case of Fisher v University of Texas at Austin. Abigail Fisher brought the case, arguing she was unconstitutionally denied access to the University of Texas because of the holistic admissions plan that determines the final one-quarter of students admitted.
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Scalia’s opinion that black students are somehow less capable of succeeding in a rigorous schooling environment is completely baseless and offensive. Currently, he claims,”they’re being pushed into schools that are too advanced for them”.
The other five have generally been dubious of the consideration of race. In its second encounter with the case, a divided three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that the Texas admissions plan was constitutional.
Thomas joined the court in 1991.
The liberal justices – Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s only Hispanic – were supportive of the university’s program, agreeing that it was a minimal use of race in support of creating a diverse student body that provides a richer learning environment for all.
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Texas says the “top 10” program alone is not enough and that the school needs the freedom to fill out incoming classes as it sees fit. But Scalia made it clear student body diversity didn’t interest him.
Kennedy said additional hearings may be needed to produce information that “we should know, but we don’t know” about how minority students are admitted and what classes they take to determine whether the use of race is necessary to increase diversity at the University of Texas.
Dear Justice Scalia, Somehow I made it out the advanced halls of these institutions while being black and my integrity in tact.
In prior research, Georgetown Center economists have found that students at more selective colleges, including black and Hispanic students, have higher graduation rates regardless of their level of academic preparation.
Garre: This court heard and rejected that argument, with respect, Justice Scalia, in the Grutter case, a case that our opponents have and asked this court to overrule. “There are African-American students for whom the local community college might be better than the University of Texas, Austin, but guess what? Maybe it ought to have fewer”, Scalia said. And I don’t think it stands to reason that it’s a good thing for the University of Texas to admit as many Blacks as possible. Justice Kagan has recused herself from the case, causing Justice Kennedy to be that all important swing vote or risk a 4-4 decision.
The number of black students enrolled at the University of Texas almost doubled between 2004 and 2007, due partly to affirmative action.
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“The argument went for an hour and a half, which is much longer than they usually go”, Thompsons said.
