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.
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