Diversity in the University

The Supreme Court ruled today on the issue of the use of race in admissions for public universities.  The decision was 7 to 1 (justice Kagan recused herself).  The justices ruled that universities can try for diversity in their student bodies and are entitled to deference if they do this on some basis other than just using race as a deciding factor.  Then, the same justices said that the universities will be held to strict scrutiny if they consider race as part of the determination.  In other words, the universities will have to show that there is no other method that could be used to obtain the same result.

Translating all this into English, one finds that the Supreme Court has ruled that in most instances universities cannot use race as a criteria in determining admission.  After all, if the schools base the diversity considerations on family income or something similar, they will be able to get a very diverse student body without using race.  For now, that should make it impossible for any remaining form of affirmative action to continue in the context of university admissions.

It is of great importance that only one justice disagreed with this ruling.  It means that this issue is unlikely to change at any time in the near future.  Race can some day be considered if other factors will not achieve the goal of diversity, but that is unlikely.

All things considered, this is a victory for those who want a color blind society.