Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion for the case, which states that the University of Texas is permitted to use race-based admissions in order to achieve educational benefits that result from student body diversity. But, she adds that a prospective student’s race has no part in the admissions process.
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Wallace Loh, president of the University of Maryland at College Park, said he too was “thrilled” by the decision, which he said would allow Maryland to continue using race as one of 26 factors in admissions decisions. Justice Samuel Alito filed a dissent, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas.
The court, in a 4-3 ruling written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, decided in favor of the university and turned aside the conservative challenge to a policy meant to foster racial and ethnic diversity on campus.
By ruling against her, the court affirmed that, with continual evaluation of its efficacy, it is acceptable to consider race in college decisions. I’m pleased that SCOTUS has reaffirmed its importance.
The Supreme Court’s ruling has left the door open for universities to embrace diversity.
Private universities have historically assumed that any ruling involving a public university and based on the Equal Protection Clause, as the Fisher decision is, would also apply to them, Harpalani said.
But this time around, Kennedy was supportive, even writing the majority opinion.
Focusing exclusively on race means that colleges now admit students of many races who are mostly affluent, Mr. Kahlenberg said: Students from the richest quarter of the population outnumber students from the poorest quarter by 24 to 1, he said.
There are pending lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina over claims that affirmative action violates applicants’ constitutional rights.
“UT simply seeks minority students with different backgrounds, different experiences, and different perspectives”, lawyer Gregory Garre argued in court briefs. In 2011, for instance, 26 percent of freshmen who enrolled under the program were Hispanic, and 6 percent were black.
Texas is unique in marrying the top 10 plan to a separate admissions review in which race is one of many factors considered.
“Our commitment to diversity is through outreach and recruitment”, she said, noting how the college has developed connections with various community groups and events. Or, Kennedy could have sided with the conservatives, and the court would have ruled 5-3 against affirmative action.
Texas resident Abigail Fisher sued the University of Texas in 2008 after she wasn’t admitted to its freshman class. Fisher did not graduate in her high school’s top 10 percent, and argued that the method the university uses to round out its new admissions put her and other white students at a disadvantage compared with their peers of other races.
Gregory Fenves, president of the University of Texas at Austin, tweeted his support for Thursday’s ruling. She has appeared twice before the Supreme Court of the United States at just 25 years old.
“Institutions have the duty to establish an educational program that ensures that a range of educational outcomes are in fact occurring at their institution”, she says.
That case, also called Fisher v. University of Texas, was decided by the Supreme Court in 2013.
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Fisher, who ultimately attend Louisiana State University, said “I am disappointed that the Supreme Court has ruled that students applying to the University of Texas can be treated differently due to their race or ethnicity…”
