University of Michigan Law school policy upheld; undergrad program overturned.
UPDATE:
This is a cut/paste/rehash of what I’ve already said elsewhere.
The SC ruling is exactly what I expected. Let the University keep the right to use discretion, but strike down the point system.
I like to think I would have gotten in anyway but I guess I can’t be sure. I calculated my score according to the point system. I came in just above the 100-point cutoff (not counting the 10 points for being a Woman In Engineering and the 20 points for being a Racial/Ethnic Minority). I think I only got the scholarships I did because I’m a minority.
I think it’s beneficial to have a “critical mass” (whatever that is) of brown faces on campus. My impression is that people who are not white or black are more likely to have more recently immigrated and/or have a much stronger sense of a culture outside of the American mainstream. You really can learn a lot, even if it’s by osmosis and not by direct interaction. I think creating a “better atmosphere for learning” is a valid goal. Of course the viewpoint that forgotten poor white kids bring is a part of that.
I hate hate hate the term “African-American.” That doesn’t have anything to do with this topic, but I felt like saying it.
I’ve heard a lot of people kick around the idea of a socio-economic-based system of “consideration.” It would theoretically address the broader problem of “disadvantaged” kids. All I’ve gotten out of that so far is that no one has figured out how to do it.
I think the original concept of Affirmative Action as a way to “right the wrongs” of the past is outdated. I think the concept of “helping the disadvantaged get a leg up” is more important, but because racism does still exist (though the specter of it is greater, I think, than the actuality) people have a hard time separating the two.
It seems a big part of the problem is that schools are not equipped/funded/staffed to handle the required increase in attention that admissions requires. Having enough people on hand to evaluate the intangible factors that are indicators of success in a candidate is an expense that most universities can’t afford.
My brain says the policies are bad. My gut says they’re not. I confess part of it is, as a U of M grad, I want us to win. There’s got to be a viable solution, but there will never be a solution that will make everyone happy. There will still be someone who didn’t get in that will be bitter about it.
And I’ll repeat, regardless of the merits of the cases, I still think the lawsuits are a load of crap because the plaintiffs’ motivation was not to right a societal wrong, but spite and bitterness.
