Affirmative Action and The Supreme Court

For those of you that haven't heard, it appears that the United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of Abigail Noel Fisher. Abigail was denied admission to the University of Texas a number of years ago when graduating from High School. She filed suit against the University, claiming that she was denied admission because she is white.

Should the Court rule in favor of Fisher, it would reverse a 2003 decision to uphold the use of race as a factor in college admissions. Fisher's case argues that the University's admissions policies violate both the Constitution as well as a stipulation in the 2003 ruling which states that race-based admissions criteria are allowed only after race-neutral criteria "have failed to achieve a diverse student body."
(via Houston Chronicle)

I think that this an especially relevant story to us and our experiences as students. I imagine that just about all of us received a rejection letter from a college that we applied to. At the time, I completely identified with this girl's frustration, but this is a very slippery slope. This country has made significant strides in the last 50 years with respect to equal rights, and I think a reversal of the 2003 decision is a step in the wrong direction.

I am not an affirmative action crusader, but I don't think we live in post-racial America, despite what we'd like to believe. There are very real disadvantages that minority communities face in this country. That's not to say that white people don't face the same challenges, but generally speaking, I think minorities are very over-represented in this category. Education is too important to not have safeguards for equal access.

Political Bio

I think the USA is the freest country in the world, but I don't think that's why "them terr'ists" hate us so much.

I believe that anyone who's been paying attention has seen our political system hijacked by corporate interests.

I think that the disparity of wealth in this country is systematically perpetuated by the super-rich who run the show, while the rest of us idly sit by and dream about how we would spend our millions.

I fall on the moderate left as far as the spectrum goes. I voted for Obama in 2008 because I was 18 and wanted to do my part. Like everyone else my age, I didn't vote in 2010. I'd vote for Ron Paul in 2012 if his social policy wasn't so crazy.

I don't like war, either on drugs or terrorism. They're both too expensive and perpetuate violence.

I think that there are people in this country that genuinely need help, and while it's our responsibility to help them as compassionate individuals, we don't, which is why the government has to spend our money on that for us.

I'm taking this class because it's required, but I hope that it gives me time and opportunity to be more up to date on current events and political issues.