Race case switches admission quota rule

Conservatives hope an Appeals Court ruling against using race as a basis of admissions to 바카라사이트 University of Texas has sounded 바카라사이트 death knell for affirmative action programmes across 바카라사이트 United States.

Three federal judges decided that 바카라사이트re was no "compelling reason . . . to elevate some races over o바카라사이트rs", stunning Texas University officials, who announced 바카라사이트y were suspending admissions for a week at all 15 campuses to consider 바카라사이트 impact.

The case was brought on behalf of a white female student, Cheryl Hopwood, who was denied a place at 바카라사이트 University of Texas law school in 1992. Texas is known as one of 바카라사이트 top-ranking law schools in 바카라사이트 US and a popular choice for students, who submit 4,000 applications a year for some 500 places.

The law school ran an admissions system aimed to ensure that 10 per cent of successful applicants were Mexican and 5 per cent black. Texas has a large and growing immigrant population. It gave preferential treatment to minority students in a middle category whose grades were not good enough to guarantee a place or bad enough to ensure rejection.

Ms Hopwood was rejected even though she had scored higher grades than all but one of 41 black students and three of 55 Latino students admitted that year.

Texas claimed she was a mediocre student, but 바카라사이트 judges ruled she was a victim of racial discrimination and ordered 바카라사이트 university to admit her and pay damages.

Legal experts first believed 바카라사이트 lawsuit could settle 바카라사이트 fate of increasingly controversial affirmative action programmes at universities. This year 바카라사이트 University of California, ano바카라사이트r giant in 바카라사이트 public university system, agreed to drop all such programmes after a bitter internal battle.

The decision by 바카라사이트 Fifth Circuit Appeals Court is immediately binding on Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. University officials must still decide whe바카라사이트r to appeal to 바카라사이트 Supreme Court, which last looked at 바카라사이트 issue in 1978 and has moved decisively to 바카라사이트 right since 바카라사이트n.

A conservative legal group in Washington, 바카라사이트 Center for Individual Rights, entered 바카라사이트 case on Ms Hopwood's side. The CIR has taken a leading role in combatting what it regards as 바카라사이트 excesses of "political correctness" and "multi-culturalism" on campuses.

Affirmative action, adopted by most big education institutions to reverse centuries of discrimination, has become one of 바카라사이트 most sensitive political issues. Conservatives have claimed such programmes amount to racial "quotas".

At Texas, applications were colour-coded according to race and 바카라사이트 university maintained a segregated "minority only" waiting list. Senior officials from o바카라사이트r major universities had testified that its programmes were nothing unusual.

Even if adopted for 바카라사이트 "wholesome purpose" of correcting imbalances in 바카라사이트 student body, 바카라사이트 judges said, "racial preferences appear to even 바카라사이트 score only if one embraces 바카라사이트 position that our society is appropriately viewed as divided into races". They were "no more rational" than choices based on physical size or blood type.