San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec




San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

Texan student sues university

Abigail Fisher, a 22-year-old white woman from a long family line of Texas Longhorns expected to receive her acceptance letter in the mail from University of Texas.

When she was denied enrollment, Fisher sued UT on the basis of not getting into the school because of her race, which she said violated her 14th Amendment rights.

Fisher v. University of Texas reached the Supreme Court last week. On Oct. 10, the first trial with the introduction of opening statements was conducted.

In 2003, a Supreme Court decision resulting from Grutter v. Bollinger deemed it is constitutional for colleges to consider race in admissions. Since then, UT instituted a policy to automatically admit students in the top 10 percent of its Texas high school. This policy is meant to ensure automatic admissions for students from less academically rigorous schools in less affluent areas of Texas. It also challenges students who fall below the 10 percent threshold.

The fact that Fisher’s case has been brought to the Supreme Court is under debate. Some say Fisher didn’t meet the qualifications of basic UT admissions. She graduated 82/674 in her class, earned a 3.59 GPA and scored below the UT’s mean SAT range with a score of 1180. Fisher’s high school record left her out of the top 10 percent automatic admissions.

At 6.7 percent, white women currently boast the lowest unemployment in the U.S.

According to an article posted on Al-Jazeera, “states including Michigan and California, where affirmative action has been removed by referendum, foreshadow a bleak future for students in America’s poor, urban centres.”

Chief Justice John Roberts is famously known for his statement during a 2007 affirmative-action, decision saying the “way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”

The Supreme Court justices will refer to affirmative action policies currently in place throughout the U.S. and determine if Fisher was denied enrollment because of her ethnicity or because of her performance.

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San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913
Texan student sues university