OPINION & EDITORIAL
Summer preview: Affirmative-action ruling
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Also by Badger Herald Editorial Board:
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- In a bind (December 5, 2007)
- Entitlement Town (December 4, 2007)
Related Stories:
- The case for affirmative action (April 3, 2003)
- Affirmative action aids UW (December 8, 2006)
- Affirmative action bad for minorities (February 12, 2002)
- UW must eliminate race factor (December 7, 2006)
- 'Neutral' policies sustain inequality (December 12, 2006)
by Badger Herald Editorial Board
Thursday, May 8, 2003
This summer the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hand down a ruling on a pair of lawsuits against the University of Michigan’s affirmative-action policies. These policies give certain minority applicants an advantage across the board over non-minorities.
Even though the Court will only make a ruling on the Michigan case, the entire issue of affirmative action has again been brought into the national spotlight. Do we need more diversity in higher education? Must admissions standards reflect Constitutional rights?
The answer to both of these two questions is yes. If the United States is to continue to succeed in the global marketplace, the need for greater diversity and reflective representation in universities is clear.
In the 1978 Bakke case the, the Supreme Court ruled that race could play a role in admission decisions, yet the University of Michigan’s policies, as they are currently applied, take that concept one step further — and potentially one step over the line. The university claims that the number of points awarded is designed to bring about a “critical mass” of minority students.
While there is merit to the idea of creating a “sufficiently diverse” environment, when applied to admissions standards this results in a quota system that violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The court’s final decision will surely have significant affects for UW’s equally vague system of racial preference in undergraduate admissions, and students should look for headlines over the summer giving this murky situation a good dose of clarity.
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