By Andrew Pillow
Affirmative Action has long been a thorn in the side of conservatives. For decades, it has been the pipe dream of every republican administration to overturn the policy. Over the years different cases and decisions have taken a huge bite out of the original policy. Trump is looking to finish the job.
The New York Times is reporting that the Trump administration is preparing to direct the Justice Department to look for university cases involving discrimination “against white applicants”. Critics say this is an attempt to undermine the long-standing affirmative action policies that universities have used to ensure diversity.
The supreme court in the past has ruled against using race as a determining factor in admissions, but said that race could be used holistically along with other factors. In the most recent case, Fisher v. University of Texas, the supreme court upheld the school’s right to use race as a minor factor.
Many are speculating that conservatives will try a new approach and frame the debate as discrimination against Asians as opposed to discrimination against whites. The Department of Justice immediately denied any such plan or announcement.
Read more here. (NY Times)