Fisher v. University of Texas

<p>By a 2-1 vote, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld UT's limited use of race in the holistic admission process.</p>

<p>In the majority's concluding paragraph, the Court stated the following:</p>

<p>"It is settled that instruments of state may pursue facially neutral policies calculated to promote equality of opportunity among students to whom the public schools of Texas assign quite different starting places in the annual race for seats in its flagship university. It is equally settled that universities may use race as part of a holistic admissions program where it cannot otherwise achieve diversity. This interest is compelled by the reality that university education is more the shaping of lives than the filling of heads with facts—the classic assertion of the humanities. Yet the backdrop of our efforts here includes the reality that accepting as permissible policies whose purpose is to achieve a desired racial effect taxes the line between quotas and holistic use of race towards a critical mass. We have hewed this line here, persuaded by UT Austin from this record of its necessary use of race in a holistic process and the want of workable alternatives that would not require even greater use of race, faithful to the content given to it by the Supreme Court." </p>

<p>UT President Bill Powers has issued a statement regarding the 5th Circuit decision:</p>

<p>“We are very pleased with the Court’s ruling recognizing the constitutionality of the University’s admissions policy under the Supreme Court’s recent guidance.</p>

<p>“We remain committed to assembling a student body at The University of Texas at Austin that brings with it the educational benefits of diversity while respecting the rights of all students. This ruling ensures that our campus, our state and the entire nation will benefit from the exchange of ideas and thoughts that happens when students who are diverse in all regards come together in the classroom, at campus events and in all aspects of campus life.”</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.utexas.edu/news/2014/07/15/fisher-versus-ut-presidentpowers-statement/”>http://www.utexas.edu/news/2014/07/15/fisher-versus-ut-presidentpowers-statement/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Affirmative hasn’t helped UT’s diversity much. Minorities with the exception of hispanics still run below 20%, hispanics barely being at the 20% mark & that’s because they are abundant in Texas.</p>

Supreme Court upheld UT’s use of affirmative action.