Affirmative action not responsible for student’s denied admission

Katherine Johnson
Columnist

The Supreme Court is currently hearing a case on an issue that continues to divide the country: race.

Affirmative action has caused quite the debate in higher education, with claims that it promotes diversity to accusations of reverse discrimination. The future of affirmative action will be in the hands of the justices as they hear Fisher v. University of Texas.

Abigail Fisher, a white Texan student with a good academic record, as well as an accomplished cellist, was denied admission to the university and decided to “invoke the consideration of race” when she sued the school according to a local news report.

Texas colleges, however, have a set admissions procedure in which 90 percent of the students admitted are from Texas with automatic admissions given to students who finished in the top 10 percent of their class. Remaining spots are allotted based on factors such as extracurricular activities, test scores, awards, race and socioeconomic background.

Because of this structured process, the university shouldn’t be ruled against in the case. Furthermore, it’s necessary for universities to preserve some degree of affirmative action so that minorities and the less privileged have access to higher education.

Affirmative action was created in order to provide equal opportunities. While this does apply to race, it also takes into consideration gender, sexual identity, and economic background. Schools are making an effort to not only promote ethnic diversity, but to assist other groups that may face discrimination as well.

Fisher’s case is cut and dry. it’s surprising that it even made it to the Supreme Court. She has no proof that the university’s final decision in denying her was on race. Rather, Fisher is looking for an excuse as to why she was not accepted, when in reality a lot of the factors were in her control.

If Fisher had better understood the school’s guidelines, she would have automatically been accepted, as one of the policies was to admit students that excelled academically in high school. Unfortunately, she failed to reach that mark.

It’s safe to say that when researching schools, students know their expectations and learn about the admissions process. Because of this, it’s possible that Fisher was aware of the policy.

UT is a fairly selective school. According to College Board, 47 percent of applicants are admitted, and the two most important factors in admission are “class rank and rigor of secondary school record.”

The university is right in considering other non-academic factors when accepting students. Again, because of this, Fisher can’t pinpoint where she didn’t make the cut. While the school does consider a student’s race and economic background, it also takes into account academic aspects.

If Fisher didn’t measure up in test scores, awards or leadership, why not admit a student that better fulfills these measurements? If that student happens to be a minority, so be it.

In the end, the more qualified candidate won out. Fisher can’t build a case on the university denying a single white person.

The university should be praised for having such a concise outline of their admissions process, as many schools, including VCU, don’t break it down so carefully. It’s also important to note that the school wants to promote diversity, but has no set quota to fill in admitting minorities.

Affirmative action is important to uphold, but not to the point where schools must accept students to meet a certain limit. The best candidate should always be chosen, which is why accepting students based only on race is a flawed system.

The University of Texas’s standards should be a guideline for other schools. While race is a factor, it’s not the only factor. The school isn’t pressured to admit students that may not be up to their standards just to meet a quota. Instead, they search for, in the words of UT’s president William Powers, “holistic characteristics.”

In this case, Fisher didn’t meet the school’s expectations. Fisher, who went on to graduate from Louisiana State University, should take personal responsibility and understand that affirmative action is set it place, not to discriminate, but to deter it from happening.