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LissetteDuranSecondPaper 5 - 13 Aug 2012 - Main.LissetteDuran
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| META TOPICPARENT | name="SecondPaper" |
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| | | Affirmative Action Again | |
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< | In February, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Fisher v. University of Texas, a case involving a challenge to their race-conscious admissions policy. In addition to their policy of admitting the top students at every high school in the state, they also use a complex system in which race plays a significant, but unquantifiable, role. Because Justice O’Connor was replaced by a more right-leaning Justice Alito Jr., many believe that the Court might find affirmative action programs unconstitutional. [Define affirmative action] | >
> | In February, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Fisher v. University of Texas, a case involving a challenge to their race-conscious admissions policy. In addition to their policy of admitting the top students at every high school in the state, the university also uses a complex system in which race plays a significant, but unquantifiable, role. Because Justice O’Connor was replaced by a more right-leaning Justice Alito Jr., many believe that the Court might find affirmative action programs unconstitutional.
An affirmative action program, or a race-conscious admissions policy, is a system that uses the race of the student as an important factor--although not a dispositive one--to help admissions decide what students to admit into their incoming class. These kinds of race-based classifications usually have to pass strict scrutiny in the courts. However, the Grutter Court (or rather O'Connor) affirmed that these classifications were needed given our history with race-relations, and deference would be given to universities trying to diversify their student bodies. Even so, this opinion provided a sunset provision: the use of affirmative action policies would be revisited after 25 years to see whether these policies were still necessary.
Considering the difficulty of erasing decades of racial discrimination, the Grutter Court believed that 25 years would be ample time to revisit the necessity of this approach. From a student's point of view, it does not seem like much has changed since Grutter. Minorities are still vastly underrepresented and discriminated against in our educational institutions. Yet, in less than 10 years, this Court felt it necessary to revisit the constitutionality of race-conscious admissions programs. | | | What Happens Next? | |
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< | If affirmative action programs are found to be unconstitutional, it will undoubtedly create a stir. Public colleges and universities will hustle to eliminate their open diversity programs. They will stop sending diversity mailings and posting their minority numbers as accolades. Enrollment numbers will probably fall—in some places drastically. We are unsure what private schools will do. Many rely heavily on federal funding for their programs and will have to change their admissions policy as well. | >
> | It is not absolutely clear that race-conscious admissions programs will be struck down. Although Grutter supporters highlight the shortened sunset provision and the bad facts provided by the Texas case to show that the Court will not come out favorably this time around, the Court's recent decision regarding the Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) shows that there might be some hope yet. As it did for the ACA, the Court will have to consider the long-term consequences of denying something so desperately needed by the largest growing population in America. | | | | |
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< | There is no question that there will be a lot of gray. But when the storm settles, as with all front-page news, things will start to pick themselves up again. Schools will find other ways to increase their minority numbers. Their admissions process—the internal and discrete process that it is—will become heavily influenced by the communities the schools service. | >
> | If the Court cannot continue to find some legal loophole to rationalize their decision for supporting race-conscious admissions programs, schools are in for some upheaval. Public colleges and universities will have to hustle to eliminate their open diversity programs. They will stop sending diversity mailings and posting their minority numbers as accolades. Enrollment numbers will probably fall—--in some places drastically. We are unsure what private schools will do. Many rely heavily on federal funding for their programs and it is likely that many will have to change their admissions policy as well.
There is no question that there will be a lot of gray. But when the storm settles, as with all front-page news, things will start to pick themselves up again. Schools will find other ways to increase their minority numbers. Their admissions process—the internal and discrete process that it is—will become heavily influenced by the communities the schools serve. | | | Increasing Minority Population | | | Contributions from alumni and voiced oppositions from their student body can really make or break administrative decisions. However, in reality large financial contributions are made by white alumni. Most (if not all) billionaires and CEOs of companies are in the majority. Their money can influence but not necessarily to the advantage of minority students. In the same vein, the voices of minority students may not resonate as much as others. Yet, minority students and alumni are important. Schools will have to answer to them as well as any groups or organizations with which they may be affiliated. | |
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< | The Real Problem | >
> | What's Left? | | | | |
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< | [Incorporate class-based discrimination idea] | | | It is beneficial for schools to reevaluate their affirmative action programs. They should constantly evaluate the successes of their methods to increase diversity. And allowing race to be openly considered in admissions policies makes that process more transparent. To an extent, schools are held accountable for their accomplishments and their failures. But most importantly, we acknowledge as a society that a problem of racial discrimination exists in our school systems and we are doing something about it. |
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