Taking a stand on diversity
As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear its first major affirmative action case since 2003, Harvard University, in partnership with 13 other universities, filed a brief last night defending the use of race-conscious admissions policies. In October, the high court will consider arguments in Fisher v. the University of Texas at Austin, a case that questions whether that state’s use of race in its admissions decisions violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The case was brought before the court on behalf of Abigail Fisher, a white student who was rejected from UT Austin in 2008. Fisher’s lawyers contend that despite her strong academic record, she was denied admission in favor of minority applicants, a decision they call unconstitutional. Harvard has no direct involvement in the case, but the University joined the amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” brief to bolster the argument for Texas’ admissions process, which...