WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) — The U.S. Supreme court will hear arguments Wednesday for a second time from a Texas woman who said she was denied admission from a public university based on her race, possibly opening the door to tighter limits on racial preference in undergraduate admissions decisions nationwide.
Abigail Fisher, who was denied admission in 2008 to the University of Texas at Austin, will face the Supreme Court again to argue the university’s admission policy was unconstitutional. Fisher says she was denied admission because she is white. The school said she did not meet the qualifications, which include graduating at the top 10 percent from any Texas high school.
The state’s “Top 10 Percent Plan” allows high-ranking Texas high school graduates automatic admission to a public university in the state. The plan was designed to bolster minority representation in public high learning institutions. Fisher finished 82 out of 674 in her class, taking her out of the running for automatic admission. In addition to the plan, the school reviews some applications based on factors besides grades, including achievements and accolades. Fisher said a less-qualified minority student edged her out of that spot.
In 2013, Supreme Court ruled 7 to 1 to send the university’s admission plan back to lower court to determine if the university could achieve diversity in other ways. The court sided with the university so Fisher appealed to the high court for the second time.
More than 80 briefs have been filed in the case, with about 60 in favor of the university. Many say colleges need to have independence to build classes to meet a school’s mission.
“Part of an institution’s academic freedom is the ability to admit who they want to admit,” says David Hawkins, executive director for educational content and policy at the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, one of the organizations that have taken that position.
Currently eight states — Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Washington — have laws that prohibit race as a consideration in admission to public universities.
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