Affirmative Action In The Grutter V. Bollinger Case

The United States government enacted affirmative action in 1961 during the Kennedy administration to give minorities an equal opportunity in society (“A brief History…”). Since then, many colleges and companies across the nation have implemented this action. Included in this action is a group of executive orders. One of the most popular executive actions introduced is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that requires companies employed by the federal government to not judge based on race, religion, sex, or national origin during the hiring process. The requirements placed on the hiring process merged with the education sphere to control the admission process. Colleges that employ affirmative action in admissions take away opportunities to attend school, which lowers the …show more content…
In the Grutter v Bollinger case the court decided, “race-conscious admissions policies must be limited in time” (Alger). This ruling helps limit how much power colleges have to admit minority students over other students. A common question on college applications is for the applicant to check the box that defines which race they are. This practice allows colleges to factor race into whether a student is admitted or not. With the usage of quotas in admission processes, this further adds to the problem by setting parameters around who is accepted. This is seen in the Fisher v University of Texas case where Abigail Fisher believed the “use of racial preferences in undergraduate admissions [at UT Austin] violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment” (Backes). The case is currently in the Supreme Court and is awaiting a decision. It is becoming harder for colleges to continue justifying race to choose whether they are admitted or not. It is not fair for white students and non-minority students who have earned a spot to be denied admission due to their