U.S. Supreme Court decision on University of Texas affirmative action

[rosered55]

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-affirmative-action-college-admissions-university-texas/

[emilybee]

Good.

[Ynotgo]

Looks like it was a 4-4 decision as with the others today.

[NoVADad99]

Washington Post saidit was 4-3.

[eireann]

4-3. Kagan recused herself.

[2VU0609]

Alito evidently took a long time reading from his 51 page dissent. SCOTUS Blog said one quote from opinion questioned how they got from the previous opinion to this one. It will be interesting to read their account of his dissent from their observer in the courtroom.

[jym626]

Is this a surprise to anyone?

[mom2collegekids]

Bad news for Asian students.

[GMTplus7]

How wide is the scope of the decision?

Narrowly tailored to TX’s percentage admit scheme? Or widely applicable to all schools?

[rosered55]

I haven’t read the decision or much analysis yet. A great source for information about Supreme Court decisions (in fact, possibly TMI for some) is scotusblog.com.

[Yomama12]

In California wouldn’t it still take a repeal of measure 209 to overturn the ban on using affirmative action?

[scout59]

I expect that scotusblog won’t be nearly as entertaining now that Scalia has died.

[ucbalumnus]

@Yomama12

In California wouldn’t it still take a repeal of measure 209 to overturn the ban on using affirmative action?

Yes.

[zobroward]

how much did U of texas lower the standards for affirmative action students?

[mom2collegekids]

<<<
California wouldn’t it still take a repeal of measure 209 to overturn the ban on using affirmative action?
<<<

thank goodness…otherwise Asian families would (rightfully) be very upset.

Maybe Texans will get it together to pass their own 209

[Yomama12]

Since Texas does not have a system where initiatives or referendums can be put to direct vote by the entire state (as California does) it would require that the Texas Legislature initiate such a measure.

[Ryndam]

Fisher got her 15 minutes of fame. She was a mediocre student who felt someone took her seat. Even her law firm was apprehensive (poor scores) … but pressed on anyway.

Nor did they acknowledge the 168 black and Latino students with grades as good as or better than Fisher’s who were also denied entry into the university that year. Also left unsaid is the fact that Fisher turned down a standard UT offer under which she could have gone to the university her sophomore year if she earned a 3.2 GPA at another Texas university school in her freshman year.

In an interview last month, Blum agreed Fisher’s credentials and circumstances make it difficult to argue — as he and his supporters have so ardently in public — that but for her race Fisher would have been a Longhorn.

“There are some Anglo students who had lower grades than Abby who were admitted also,” Blum told ProPublica. “Litigation like this is not a black and white paradigm.”

http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/it-seems-mediocre-grades-not-ethnicity-kept-abigail-fisher-out-of-ut-austin-7122125

Now that this is settled until it is challenged again, I wonder when some is going to bring the other AA (legacies) to the SC?

[crimsonhyde]

So does this mean colleges will start openly admitting that their admissions processes employ affirmative action instead of using the moniker “holistic admissions”?

[lookingforward]

^ At this point, it doesn’t apply to private colleges.

“The decision, Fisher v. University of Texas, No. 14-981, concerned an unusual program and contained a warning to other universities that not all affirmative action programs will pass constitutional muster. But the ruling’s basic message was that admissions officials may continue to consider race as one factor among many in ensuring a diverse student body.” NYT.

Holistic is different than AA. There are no slam dunks.

[zobroward]

crimsonhyde…I think terms like “holistic admissions” are code words used by private schools. they do not have to follow the same criteria, as a public school like U of texas