Will Justices Reject or Affirm Affirmative Action?
U.S. SUPREME COURT -- The nation's highest court is again tackling the question of affirmative action, this time at the country's colleges, with the case of Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin.
Abigail Fisher felt that being white may have hurt her chances to get accepted by the University of Texas in Austin. She sued, and this is the second time her case has come before the Supreme Court.
"Like most Americans, I don't believe that students should be treated differently based on their race," Fisher said to reporters after exiting the Supreme Court Wednesday morning.
Affirmative action was originally meant to help end racial unfairness in America. But in the 21st century, some say it's just adding to it. Attorney Joshua Thompson of the Pacific Legal Foundation wrote an amicus brief opposing the use of racial preferences by universities.
"The university and any government entity shouldn't be able to use any racial preferences up until the point that they can prove that the benefits clearly outweigh the costs," Thompson told CBN News outside the Court.
"The costs of using racial preferences are undeniable," he continued. "They stereotype, they stigmatize and they're pernicious. The benefits here are very speculative. What are the benefits of diversity? Nobody can pinpoint it and it's all very amorphous."
But attorney Gregory Garre, arguing for the University of Texas, said a system without racial preferences does not measure up.
"And you had reports of racial isolation and a hostile racial climate with respect to African-Americans and Hispanics -- a situation where the University of Texas was clearly not meeting its educational interests, its compelling educational interest in educating the future leaders of Texas," Garre said.
Activist Al Sharpton was dismayed at the possibility that the justices may strike down the affirmative action system.
"Today could be a devastating blow to those that are continuing to fight for racial fairness on campus," Sharpton said after the hearing.
University of Texas administrators insist they haven't gone overboard with racial preferences because the number of graduating minorities isn't that large.
That logic led Fisher's lead attorney, Bert Rein, to shoot back, "Race is an odious classification. And it really doesn't matter if the results are small. That sort of indicates you didn't have to do it in the first place."
After sitting through the hearing, Thompson wasn't sure how the justices will rule.
"The argument went for an hour and a half, which is much longer than they usually go," Thompsons said. "And the court was very skeptical of some of the arguments being pushed by the university but also had very strong questions for Ms. Fisher's attorneys."
Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin is a complicated case, but at its core is whether American universities should be able to use race as a determining factor for who gets an education at their institutions.
