As the Supreme Court continues to hear briefs and debates concerning the University of Michigan cases, other schools seem to be taking matters into their own hands without the necessary "approval" of governmental authority. Just this past weekend, Virginia Tech University reinstated its affirmative action program. Although the school was told by the attorney general's office that there were certain aspects of their programs which were unconstitutional, VT went on about it as though they really had no care in the world.

VT's program extends beyond just the admissions process into scholarships and into the hiring of staff. The reason for their sudden outburst in the midst of the Michigan cases is due to the fact that VT had been considering ending such affirmative action processes. It is clear to see that they did this to no avail. There were protests and demonstrations staged (mainly from affirmative action supporters) because of the fact that VT seemed intimidated by the Supreme Court rulings and therefore trying to change their policies during the trial proceedings.

It seemed contradictory to the students and other supporters of affirmative action that despite the state of Virginia have a 20% black population, only 6% of the VT campus was comprised of black students. This disparity caused a lot of ill feeling on behalf of minority students. Thus, VT took a monumental step in spite of the proceedings taking place in Washington D.C.. They decided to take a stand as higher education facility in order to resume affirmative action while it was still possible in the time frame. This summer when the Supreme Court hands down its motion will then be the appropriate time to make the adjustments necessary in order to follow the newly established law. It is comforting to see that institutions and/or people are still taking a stand for issues that may be deemed unconstitutional, and preserving those ideals until the very end of its tenure.