Affirmative action critics argue that race-conscious admissions policies are keeping Asian American enrollment numbers unfairly low because Asian American students are held to higher admissions standards than applicants of any other race or ethnicity. "Selective Bias: Asian Americans, Test Scores, and Holistic Admissions" evaluates the…

Utilizing a critical raceclass theory of education, OiYan A. Poon and colleagues analyze interviews with Asian Americans who have publicly advocated for or against affirmative action and acknowledged how their understandings of racial capitalism informed their perspectives and actions. Limited research has considered Asian American subjectivity in…

Affirmative action in education is once again in the media and cultural spotlight. The Trump administration, along with a decidedly rightward shift on the Supreme Court, signal a bleak outlook for affirmative action policies in higher education. However, as educators, we can also use this historical moment to have robust and critical conversations…

In November of 1996, California voted and approved Proposition 209 (also known as the California Civil Rights Initiative) by a tally of 54.55% to 45.45%. It is unknown how many of those voters voted for the initiative because the name implied that it was pro-civil rights. Nonetheless, California became the first state to ban the practice of…

This essay discusses the contentious events leading to the decision by the University of California's Board of Regents to end affirmative action in admissions, hiring and contracting at the university in July 1995. This controversial decision provided momentum for California's passage of Proposition 209 the following year ending "racial…

Although diversity in higher education has continued to increase over the past 20 years, colleges and universities continue to enroll Black, Latinx and American Indian students in bachelor's programs at low rates; additionally, more selective institutions and high-demand fields of study are less likely to enroll these students, and they often are…

Justice Goodwin Liu reexamined seminal affirmative action in higher education legal cases beginning with the landmark 1978 case, "Regents of the University of California v. Bakke" and leading up to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 decision in "Gratz v. Bollinger." Liu argued that the "Bakke and Gratz" lawsuits were…

When the U.S. Supreme Court takes up "Fisher v. Texas" in the fall--its first major consideration of affirmative action policies in higher education since 2003--scholars, legal experts and university administrators say the policies that are the basis of affirmative action in the nation's colleges and universities may be coming to an end. While…

Despite the vast research on African Americans and affirmative action, little qualitative analysis has been done to investigate how race exists and functions in American law schools. This dissertation researches the ways in which race is constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed within two American law schools. Three primary lenses guide this…

One of the important arguments by critics of affirmative action is that it actually hurts the students it is supposed to help by subjecting them to the "stigma" of being admitted under policies explicitly seeking campus diversity. Such students, this theory argues, must feel embarrassed and uncomfortable as a result and would prefer to…

This article examines the "Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle Public School District No. 1" decision in light of its impact on the "Brown" ruling that preceded it. The Supreme Court's 5-4 vote on the matter of desegregation and equal access to educational opportunity signals that a divide exists in the United…

In "Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1," a highly contentious and divided Supreme Court invalidated race-conscious admissions plans in two urban school systems, Seattle and Louisville. As such, "Parents Involved" was the latest chapter in the Court's almost 40-year history of reaching mixed…

Challenges the view that, in a meritocratic society, affirmative action in higher education does personal and professional harm to those whom it ostensibly benefits. The author contends that, in most cases, those who are granted preferences are neither professionally diminished nor hurt by personal or societal feelings that they are unqualified or…

Examines how economic disadvantage explains race bias in college admissions and attendance, addressing the possibility of reaching racial diversity through economically-based affirmative action. Discusses the possible validity of admissions measures, noting that financial barriers to attendance exist even among public colleges and reporting…

The decision of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to stop giving significant admissions preference to minority students sparked student protests and debate about universities' promises of affirmative action. Constitutional scholars and higher-education officials found the university's numerical goals for admissions legally risky, so the…