2003

 

 

Reed reacts to Supreme Court ruling on race

In a pair of decisions rendered earlier this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of universities to consider race as a factor in assembling a diverse student body. Writing for the majority in a case dealing with the admission policy of the University of Michigan Law School, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor declared that the constitution “does not prohibit the law school’s narrowly tailored use of race in admissions decisions to further a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body.” The Court found that the law school’s system of seeking a “critical mass” of minority students was “narrowly tailored” because race was only one factor considered in a “holistic” appraisal of each candidate.

By contrast, in the companion case, the court struck down a formulaic “point system” employed by the University of Michigan in its undergraduate admission program. The court, in a majority opinion by Chief Justice Rehnquist, ruled that, by assigning a predetermined number of points to all minority applicants, the university was denying applicants the “individualized consideration” required by the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Reed president Colin Diver expressed approval for both aspects of the court’s ruling. He expressed the view that racial and ethnic diversity promotes the goals of a truly liberal education, but only if achieved without the use of inflexible group-based formulas. Diver said that Reed’s minority admission practices are “well within” the guidelines established by the court for consideration of race in admission: “We consider race and ethnicity in our recruitment and assessment processes, but in an egalitarian, personalized way that looks carefully at the whole individual and is thoroughly compatible with the spirit and values of Reed. We do not and will not endorse a ‘points’ or quota system like the one used in Michigan’s undergraduate program.”

Before being named president of Reed, Diver was dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, as well as law professor and dean of the Boston University School of Law. In addition, Diver’s family was profiled in the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Common Ground, by New York Times journalist J. Anthony Lukas, which detailed their experiences in the 1960s struggling with Boston’s school desegregation and working toward racial equality. End of Article

 

 

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2003
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