Free Republic

A federal judge endorsed the University of North Carolina’s (UNC) use of race as a factor in screening applicants after ruling that the university did not discriminate against white and Asian American applicants.No discrimination: Judge Loretta Biggs ruled on Monday that the UNC’s undergraduate admissions process had not been discriminatory toward specific race groups, reported CNN.The group Students for Fair Admissions alleged in its 2014 lawsuit that UNC deliberately discriminated against certain members by including race in its admissions process.According to the suit, UNC allegedly used “racial preferences in undergraduate admissions where there are available race-neutral alternatives capable of achieving...

... Mr. Blum does not give up easily. He has started a series of websites seeking plaintiffs. “Were you denied admission to the University of North Carolina?” one asks. “It may be because you’re the wrong race.” The site features a picture of a student who appears to be Asian-American. There is a form to fill out and a bit of hand holding. Mr. Blum’s group, the Project on Fair Representation, “covers all expenses,” the site says. “In every similar case during the last 12 years or so, no individual was required to appear or testify in any court or...

Edward Blum has the kind of zeal for public policy that usually leads to a career in politics. Mr. Blum does not like elections, though — he has lost two of them. And he has discovered what may be a more powerful instrument for advancing his beliefs: the court system. A self-described autodidact who has no law degree or formal scholarly background, Mr. Blum is the driving force behind Fisher v. University of Texas, the affirmative action case headed to the United States Supreme Court that could halt the use of race in university admissions. For Mr. Blum, the lawsuit...

This week marks the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 landmark decision in which the Supreme Court struck down race-based student assignments in public schools. Ironically, next month will then mark the one-year anniversary of Grutter v. Bollinger, in which the Court upheld the use of race-based student admissions in universities. It is not surprising that, when Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor blessed the use of racial preferences to achieve "diversity" at the University of Michigan law school this past June, she must have felt guilty about playing fast and loose with the Constitution's ban...

<p>The most tangible outcome of yesterday's split Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action will be another round of lawsuits over what's acceptable and what's illegal for colleges and universities.</p> <p>Carl Cohen, the University of Michigan professor who brought his school's admissions policies to light in 1996, said the ruling will ignite a flurry of legal challenges to similar policies.</p>

If your stomach starts to churn whenever the office or classroom discussion turns to "affirmative action," it may be wise for you to start stocking up on Maalox now. A blockbuster lawsuit will be decided by the Supreme Court by the end of next week that will focus the nation's attention to the issues of race and preferences like never before. And considering how quickly the Democrats are likely to play the race card after this opinion is released, it wouldn't hurt for the White House to lay in a case of Rolaids as well.Specifically, the Supreme Court is...