The Supreme Court and the future of affirmative action

Hour 1

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas, the first affirmative action case since 2003 when the justices ruled that the University of Michigan Law School’s could consider a candidate’s race in admissions .  Now, nine years later, the court is more conservative and a ruling in favor of Abigail Fisher, a white applicant to the University of Texas who was denied admission in 2008, could make race-based affirmative action illegal forcing state universities to look for other ways of ensuring a diverse student population.   In this hour of Radio Times we’ll talk about Fisher v. University of Texas and what’s at stake with BEN WIEDER of Stateline.org. Then we’ll look at the efforts to create a racially and ethically diverse student body within universities in the seven states that have already banned racial preferences in admission, including Texas whose “10% plan” is being challenged in Fisher v. University of Texas.  RICHARD KAHLENBERG of the Century Foundation joins us to explain the findings of his new report “”A Better Affirmative Action: State Universities that Created Alternatives to Racial Preferences.”

Listen:
[audio: 100912_100630.mp3]
Photo Credit: AP Images / Eric Gay