Question

Analyse the Supreme Court's ruling in Bakke v. California.  What elements did the Court use to define that Reverse Discrimination had taken place? What becomes the new standard for Race in College Admissions?

Answer 1

On June 28, 1978 the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 is considered to be a landmark decision. The "reverse discrimination" was sued by Bakke because few of the admitted minorities had lower scores and lower grade point averages on the Medical College Admission Test compared to him. He alleged that the medical school's policy on admission violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The ruling stated that use of racial "quotas" by a university's in its process of admissions was unconstitutional, however usage of affirmative action by school for accepting more applicants in minority was constitutional in certain circumstances. In this case the use of racial quotas violated the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause as for no other reason it intended to prefer one group other than ethnic or race origin. Regents of this case established a pragmatic approach of reconciliation of good-intentioned quota and affirmative action programs with the Constitution's zealous equality protection. Since this ruling it has established a new standard for Race in College Admissions as private and public universities have crafted affirmative action programs which remain consistent with Bakke's requirements