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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana University and Purdue University have joined with six public universities in filing an amicus brief in support of the University of Texas and its diversity-related admissions policies, which are being considered by the Supreme Court of the United States in Fisher v. University of Texas.
The high court will hear arguments Dec. 9 in the case. The issue is whether the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ re-endorsement of the University of Texas at Austin’s policies that allow for the consideration of race in determining admissions can be sustained under previous SCOTUS decisions interpreting the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, including Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. This is the second time the U.S. Supreme Court will consider this case.
The schools argue in the brief that public universities rely on SCOTUS precedent in furthering their broad diversity goals. They also say they have tailored their admissions processes to fit the framework provided by previous Supreme Court decisions and nothing legally or factually has changed to justified a departure from that precedent.
“Cultivating a student body that features individuals with a wide array of backgrounds, talents and skills is essential to Indiana University’s mission and strikes at the heart of our core values of diversity and inclusion,” said Jacqueline Simmons, IU vice president and general counsel. “The Supreme Court has long accepted the inclusion of race as one of many factors universities may consider when making admissions decisions, and we join with the University of Texas and other leading public universities in respectfully asking the court to remain consistent with the effective precedent it has set in this area.”
Abigail Fisher, a white woman, sued the university in 2008 after she was denied admission to the Austin campus, claiming the policies allowing for the consideration of race when determining admissions violated her 14th Amendment rights to equal protection. The 5th Circuit ruled in favor of the university, but the Supreme Court vacated the ruling and sent it back for “a more exacting scrutiny of (UT’s) efforts to achieve diversity” and to ensure that the university’s consideration of race in admissions was “narrowly tailored” to achieve diversity. The 5th Circuit reaffirmed its original decision.
Joining IU and Purdue in filing the amicus brief are the University of Delaware, University of Kansas, University of Minnesota, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Pennsylvania State University, and Rutgers University.
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