| |
LAST UPDATED ON
June 24, 2003
- Monday's U.S. Supreme Court rulings that colleges may use
race-conscious admissions policies - - so long as they consider applicants
as individuals and do not automatically give some an edge - - left both
supporters and critics of affirmative action claiming victory. In two
cases involving the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, the court held
that the consideration of race and ethnicity in admissions serves a
compelling government interest. Nevertheless, the court struck down
the admissions policy at Michigan's chief undergraduate college as not
narrowly tailored to meet such a compelling government interest, because
the policy treated whole groups of applicants differently based solely
on their race. The university, and many of its supporters in higher
education, cheered the rulings as leaving the door open for colleges
to continue to consider race in admissions. "It is a huge victory,"
said Marvin Krislov, the University of Michigan's general counsel. "Affirmative
action is still alive." Critics of affirmative action said the
decisions narrowed the court's definition of the sorts of race-conscious
admissions programs that can withstand legal challenge, leaving colleges
vulnerable to additional legal challenges down the road. "Today's
ruling is a mixed decision that signals the beginning of the end of
race-based preferences in America," said Terence J. Pell, the president
of the Center for Individual Rights, which represented the plaintiffs
in the two lawsuits against Michigan.
|
