Repercussions and administrative changes have rippled throughpublic universities due to the June 23 Supreme Court decision thatrace can be a factor in determining admission.
At The University of Memphis, however, things have not changed,because The University does not take race into consideration whendetermining admission, according to Director of Admissions DavidWallace.
The Supreme Court struck down the University of Michigan'spolicy of awarding points for the race of applicants, but did notdo away with the overall policy of using race as one of severaldeciding factors.
The two cases--one against the admission standards ofundergraduate admissions and the other against the Michigan LawSchool--set the current precedent for admission. The last time theSupreme Court ruled on the admission standards of publicuniversities was 25 years ago.
The University of Michigan awarded 20 points based on anapplicant's minority status. The points were given, according tothe University of Michigan, to make its student body more raciallydiverse, but the justices ruled that unconstitutional on a 6-3vote.
The Michigan Law School's admission policy was unheld on a 5-4vote. Barbara Grutter, the plaintiff in the case applied foradmission but upon finding that she was denied admission she thenfound that African American applicants with overall lower admissionscores were admitted.
"(Affirmative Action) has its place in some places more thanothers," saida U of M student. Race should be a factor in certainuniversities were the student body is not diverse, said Goin.
According to The U of M, 40 percent of its student body is madeup of non-white students.
Goin said in the case of financial aid there should be more ofan emphasis on race, because the financial situation of minoritiescan be a disadvantage, said Goin.
Colleges and universities in Tennessee, including The U of M,are under a Federal court mandate to desegregate institutions ofhigher education. The mandate comes from a 35-year-olddesegregation lawsuit in Tennessee.
The U of M was not "doing what (Michigan) was doing anyway--"The University does not give special consideration for race,according to the Affirmative Action Compliance Officer MichelleBanks.
