Thursday, June 23, 2016

Supreme Court Upholds Affirmative Action Program at University of Texas






"The decision, Fisher v. University of Texas, No. 14-981, concerned an unusual program and contained a warning to other universities that not all affirmative action programs will pass constitutional muster. But the ruling’s basic message was that admissions officials may continue to consider race as one factor among many in ensuring a diverse student body".

President Obama was pleased with the decision. “I’m pleased that the Supreme Court upheld the basic notion that diversity is an important value in our society,”  President Obama was asked if this ruling should include All minorities and he directed the question to the intent of Affirmative Action adoption......... "People of Color need a level playing ground but African Americans began this fight due to unfair laws and suffered from years of discrimination that prevented African Americans a fair shot". 

Obama agreed that there may need to be some language changes in the original doctrine of Affirmative Action so that minority is understood to mean African American in certain situations and also "People of Color" as a group have become the majority in many cases and"white people" are the minority. The initial language of Affirmative Action is specific in it's intent of helping African Americans but the word "minority" is used in the body of the document to describe African Americans.

Currently at UT admitted students who finished in the Top 10% of their class. After that they use several other criteria including race. Affirmative Action lowers these requirements for African Americans so that they can be admitted. Fisher challenged this policy because she was not admitted but had higher scores than other African Americans who were admitted.  

"In other countries, such as the UK, affirmative action is rendered illegal because it does not treat all races equally. In such countries, the focus tends to be on ensuring equal opportunity and, for example, targeted advertising campaigns to encourage ethnic minority candidates to join the police force. This is sometimes described as "positive action."  Somc American opponent's point out the devaluing of a person by selecting a person based on their social group and not their qualifications and accomplishments.  

Derek Fitzhenry

Read more on Supreme Court Decision HERE


Further Reading


A Brief Guide to Today’s Supreme Court Decisions




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