Yesterday marked the first day of hearings in a monumental Supreme Court case that may ultimately decide the fate of whether race has any place in the admissions process of any higher education institution. Although the outcome of this case will prove pertinent to public colleges and universities, it will send a chilling ripple effect across the nation concerning how American thinking and ideology has changed since Brown v. Board of Education in the sixties where racism and segregation was still heavily apart of American society.
This will be the first case of its kind dealing with racism that the United States will experience during this new century. Although it would only mandate its ruling on public institutions, the result of this case is monumental. The reason for this is that it will influence how private colleges view their admissions process and how other government institutions will also in turn try to amend their policies. By expanding from the public realm into the private realm, these Michigan cases will prove to be a historic precedent to how racial relations will continue to be viewed in the future.
The outcome of this case is not going to be a simple one or one that either side of the issue will walk away lightly from. The 9 member court is roughly split in terms of liberals and conservatives. A key swing vote belongs to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor who may very well control the final outcome of this case. Many analysts have long pointed to the fact that this will be another 5-4 decision of the Court and that there will be tremendous uproar concerning which way the case is settled. It took a very long time in the past to implement such programs such as desegregation and many see this also as an issue that would create resistance and thus alternative admissions policies that would try to undermine the national ruling.
The stage is set and so is the tension outside of the court room. Some 5,000 to 7,000 protesters marched outside voicing their pro-affirmative action stance. Chants such as ''they say Jim Crow, we say hell no'' are being yelled while political figures such as the Reverend Jesse Jackson lend their public figure presence to the cause. Affirmative action is a highly crucial and debatable topic in America right now just as it was some forty or fifty years ago. As we are fighting a war in Iraq abroad right now, we are also fighting our own division here at home.
This will be the first case of its kind dealing with racism that the United States will experience during this new century. Although it would only mandate its ruling on public institutions, the result of this case is monumental. The reason for this is that it will influence how private colleges view their admissions process and how other government institutions will also in turn try to amend their policies. By expanding from the public realm into the private realm, these Michigan cases will prove to be a historic precedent to how racial relations will continue to be viewed in the future.
The outcome of this case is not going to be a simple one or one that either side of the issue will walk away lightly from. The 9 member court is roughly split in terms of liberals and conservatives. A key swing vote belongs to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor who may very well control the final outcome of this case. Many analysts have long pointed to the fact that this will be another 5-4 decision of the Court and that there will be tremendous uproar concerning which way the case is settled. It took a very long time in the past to implement such programs such as desegregation and many see this also as an issue that would create resistance and thus alternative admissions policies that would try to undermine the national ruling.
The stage is set and so is the tension outside of the court room. Some 5,000 to 7,000 protesters marched outside voicing their pro-affirmative action stance. Chants such as ''they say Jim Crow, we say hell no'' are being yelled while political figures such as the Reverend Jesse Jackson lend their public figure presence to the cause. Affirmative action is a highly crucial and debatable topic in America right now just as it was some forty or fifty years ago. As we are fighting a war in Iraq abroad right now, we are also fighting our own division here at home.
posted by opalescence at
10:38 PM
