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Response to : Amicus Brief Badge Fisher v. University of Texas

January 21st, 2013

Race and sexual orientation are common deciding factors in today’s society. Many individuals are not given a chance to show their academic skills, for most schools and businesses want to be diverse. If the individual’s personal information was unknown, would the outcome change? This information should not be available to businesses or schools. The schools and businesses should look at academics more than race and sexual orientation.
In the case Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District, a group of children were spread throughout three schools. The district used the childrens’ race as a deciding factor for which school they would be put in. How is that fair? It is not. Race may be an easy way to make a decision “easier” in certain situations, but race should not be a reason to segregate one individual from another. Diversity may be important, but if race wasn’t even a factor there would not be as much controversy about it. Diversity will just come by itself.
Race is such a small part of the whole individual. Other factors, such as top 10% in your class, should be of more importance than personal information. In the case Grutter v. Bollinger, Justice O’Connor mentions, “25 years (after this case), the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today.” Knowing that choosing upon race is unconstitutional the justice promotes the idea that race will no longer be an issue after the case is done. Bringing up this concept allows others to think about how important this factor should be with acceptance to a school to promotions in a work place.
Making a diverse environment has clouded the judgement of acceptance. In the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke case, the Medical School reserved 16 out of 100 spots for minority candidates. Making the conclusion that even if 16 non-minority candidates were better choices, they would not get a spot, because the college needed to be diverse. Being diverse is important, but diversity will come by itself.
Abigail Fisher applied to the University of Texas, and she was not accepted. Soon after she was accepted to Louisiana State University. Abigail argues that she was not accepted due to her race. She doesn’t know that her race was the reason she did not get accepted, but she is arguing that if she was a minority she would have been accepted. In past cases that are similar to this case justices Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito ruled not constitutional. Concluding that the Supreme Court will ultimately rule this case as not constitutional.