June 23, 2016      5:08 PM
Supreme Court leaves key question in Fisher v UT unanswered
No expectation the decision will have broad impact on other universities, with the exception that UT’s combination of the Top 10 Percent Rule and holistic review could be used by others to be considered constitutional
Today’s decision out of the U.S. Supreme Court
affirmed the current admission standards at the University of Texas at Austin,
but left the core question of the original case unanswered.
That didn’t stop supporters, including The
Leadership Council on Civil and Human Rights, from hailing this
morning’s opinion on race-conscious admissions as a continued commitment to the
principles of 2003’s Grutter v Bollinger decision and an acknowledgement
of racial diversity as a desired educational benefit on college campuses.
“The ruling does not create any additional limitations on
race,” said attorney Marissa Bono of
the Mexican-American
Legal Defense and Education Fund on a conference call. “Instead, it
reiterates race is instrumental in creating the educational benefits of
diversity on a college campus. It was a ‘factor of a factor of a factor’ in a
holistic review. This is just another step in a long line of challenges that
show diversity is a compelling interest.”
By Kimberly Reeves
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