Idea of the Day: Student Diversity Is Important for Colleges and Universities

October 10, 2012

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The Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments tomorrow in Fisher v. University of Texas, a constitutional challenge to race-conscious admission policies at colleges and universities. If the Court bars the use of race in admissions, it will erase 50 years of progress and threaten universities’ attempts to make college campuses more diverse and inclusive. Conservatives hope that this case will overturn the Court’s 2003 ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger, which allowed schools to use race as one of the many factors in achieving racial diversity in their institutions. Such a ruling, however, would adversely impact students on college campuses and would go against our nation’s founding principles of fairness and equal opportunity.

As a nation we have come a long way in terms of inclusiveness—in 2008 we elected our first African American president—but our work is far from done. It’s important that as a country we continue to expand opportunities for all to ensure that we are giving everyone a fair shot.

For more on this topic, please see:

• 10 Reasons Why We Need Diversity on College Campuses by Sophia Kerby