The Supreme Court's ruling in a flag-burning case raises questions about whether antiharassment policies that colleges and universities have adopted, penalizing slurs and epithets used by students to harass others, violate the First Amendment to the Constitution. If public college policies were found unconstitutional, private colleges would not…

The Supreme Court's 1992 decision on desegregation in state higher education systems is criticized for lacking force and creating confusion. The ruling encourages states to support historically black colleges by adding academic programs. Some feel the ruling will not help most black students, who are enrolled in predominantly white institutions.…

The Department of Education's announcement of new policy concerning the evaluation of college desegregation efforts could affect the monitoring of compliance in several states in which court-ordered desegregation plans have expired. The higher standards are based on the 1992 Supreme Court ruling, United States v. Fordice. (MSE)

A federal judge has ruled that 23 prestigious colleges and universities in the Overlap Group violated federal antitrust laws for over 20 years when they met to compare financial-aid packages to be awarded to prospective students, rejecting arguments of social and educational need and nonapplicability of antitrust law. Massachusetts Institute of…

The Justice Department restated and clarified its position in a landmark higher education desegregation case to be heard in the Supreme Court, providing a substantial boost to Black-college supporters. The new brief explicitly affirms federal government support for historically Black colleges, calling them a vital component of U.S. higher…

A U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld significant portions of an arrangement allowing Rutgers University faculty to pay agency fees in lieu of union dues and still be covered by a collective bargaining contract, despite contention that aspects of the agreement violated their constitutional rights to free speech. (MSE)

Politics and science have become too much entangled in the controversy over creationism and the teaching of evolution in the public schools. Political opinion is irrelevant when the scientific principles underlying a particular issue are being discussed. (MSE)

A recent United State Supreme Court ruling upheld a California law requiring employers to grant female employees up to four months of unpaid maternity leave and make reasonable efforts to reinstate them when they return to work. The decision and its implications are discussed. (MSE)

A federal judge's specifications for desegregating Mississippi's state colleges are excerpted from a recent court ruling. Issues addressed include the state's formula for financing colleges, whether the case should focus on students or institutions, the missions of historically black colleges and predominantly white institutions, and campus…

The Supreme Court will not consider an appeal of a lower-court ruling invalidating a black-only scholarship program at the University of Maryland at College Park. Reaction among colleges and universities is mixed; many are seeking ways for scholarship programs to favor minorities without excluding whites. (MSE)

While Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr.'s opinion in the Supreme Court's ruling on Allen Bakke vs. Regents of the University of California has set the ground rules for most student affirmative action programs, both critics and supporters remain unhappy about the status of affirmative action in higher education. (MSE)

Federal judge Pratt rejected a request to temporarily keep in effect a court order he dismissed last year, saying that the NAACP failed to prove they were likely to win their appeal, or that Black students would suffer "irreparable harm" because of the dismissal. (MLW)

A recent Supreme Court ruling in a lawsuit concerning sex discrimination in corporate promotion decisions had circumstances similar to those in academic discrimination litigation, and may make it easier for college faculty to bring discrimination cases against colleges and universities. (MSE)

The Supreme Court will not hear an appeal by a software publisher suing the University of California at Los Angeles for copying its computer programs, upholding state rights in copyright law. However, federal legislation paving the way for such suits in the future is being drafted. (MSE)

The Supreme Court decision in Martin vs. Wilks gives employees dissatisfied with affirmative action hiring plans the right to mount legal challenges to them years after adoption, even if employees did not challenge the plans originally. Some say the plans are vulnerable to new legal challenges, while others say they are not. (MSE)