Earlier today, I had some down time while my two year old Bella was sleeping and my eight and eleven year old boys were almost tired after we finished spending the prior three hours at Chuck-e-Cheese (though they love that place, I always find myself saying as I leave: "why did I do this to myself?" P.S. Would love to hear some of your similar stories).
In any event, in this rare daylight opportunity to think like an adult, I decided to review some news stories as well as articles by fellow academics on the Fisher v. University of Texas case. While much of the media has warned that the case may lead to the end of affirmative action programs at the university level, I believe some of the more reasoned views correctly observe that the case will not likely lead to the end of affirmative action. This is so because the Fifth Circuit case did not examine all aspects of UT's admissions program (or even all aspects of its affirmative action program, for that matter). The bulk of UT's admissions program is the so-called top-ten percent program, which guarantees UT admission for all Texas high school students that graduate in the top ten of their respective classes. What the Fifth Circuit examined was that part of the UT admissions policy that considers race, among many other factors, for those students that fall out of the top ten percent program. A review of the Fifth Circuit opinion leads me to believe that UT's holistic admissions evaluation process will likely survive notwithstanding the change in the make up of the Court that many academics have previously noted. Examining solely the merits of the case, and not the judicial and political philosophies of the members of this Court, which is of course relevant (but space constraints prevent), I believe the Court will follow the Fifth Circuit's observation that:
"[The University of Texas's] holistic approach is part of a forward-looking effort to obtain the educational benefits of diversity. The look to race as but one element of this further goal, coupled with individualized consideration, steers university admissions away from a quota system. Grutter teaches that so long as a university considers race in a holistic and individualized manner, and not as part of a quota or fixed-point system, courts must afford a measure of deference to the university's good faith determination that certain race-conscious measures are necessary to achieve the educational benefits of diversity, including attaining critical mass in minority enrollment."
I am not, however, so please with myself to believe that the above observations are particularly new, or interesting for that matter. What my research relieved was a provocative article in the Chronicle of Higher Education by Professor Michele Goodwin entitled "The Death of Affirmative Action Part I". In this essay, Goodwin does what many supporters of affirmative action often think about, but rarely openly state--the feelings of loss, or perhaps even frustration/anger, over the role of White women in the civil rights struggle. While I do not want to spend too much time characterizing Professor Goodwin's observations, and welcome all of us here to draw our own conclusions, I will say I found myself impressed with Goodwin's courage. Here is some of what she notes concerning the issue:
"Ironically, if affirmative action “dies,” some might argue that its demise is proof of its success for white women. After all, the Fisher case is brought by a woman, and as women were (and continue to be) primary beneficiaries of affirmative action and civil rights laws, particularly in education (and business), perhaps this case hails a new day?
....
That white women lead the charge against affirmative action in these cases is worthy of note for a few reasons. First, white women benefit significantly from state and federal affirmative-action programs (in higher education, small business loans, government contracts, etc.) and in the private sector with hiring and recent efforts to diversify boards of Fortune 500 companies. Second, prior to revamped admissions practices in direct response to civil-rights laws, women had much less possibility of success in suing a university to admit them."
Here is the link to Professor Goodwin's article:
http://chronicle.com/blogs/brainstorm/the-death-of-affirmative-action-part-i/44860
I look forward to your views on any of the above. I, for one, believe that even if I totally disagree with Goodwin, I certainly appreciate colleagues that are willing to say things that make us feel less than great about ourselves..heck, I try to do it all too often in my own writings.
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