The US Supreme Court has upheld Michigan’s ban on race- and gender-conscious admissions policies at public universities.
The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Rick Pluta reports.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette defended the amendment, approved by voters in 2006, that outlawed race- and gender-based affirmative action. He praised the Supreme Court decision as on target.
“Michigan voters exercised their privilege to enact laws as a basic exercise of their democratic power,” he says.
Mark Fancher is an ACLU attorney who argued against the amendment.
“What the court’s ruling does is it essentially affirms the tyranny of the majority,” he says.
He says now it’s harder for minorities to demand admissions policies to overcome a history of discrimination, while that’s not true for many others, including alumni, donors, and athletes.