An affirming message An affirming message
04/03/03
The U.S. Supreme Court won't rule until summer on the most significant legal challenge to affirmative action in a generation. But in a sense, the wait is already over. The real ruling occurred already, outside the chambers during arguments this week and in the tidal wave of briefs filed in favor of diversity.
A vast and wide-ranging coalition of Americans supports affirmative action -- not out of guilt or obligation, but out of the growing understanding that diverse organizations simply work better. The two lawsuits before the Supreme Court accuse the University of Michigan of acting unconstitutionally by using race as a factor in admissions to the university's undergraduate program and law school.
We think the court should strike down the practice of awarding points to applicants of certain races: That's a clumsy shortcut, rather than an extra consideration. However, we think the court should reaffirm its 1978 Bakke decision, which allows colleges to consider race as one of many factors when building their student bodies. What's more, the court should note the stunning change in public opinion since their last big case. In 1978, advocates of affirmative action said, "This is for the disadvantaged."
Now, advocates say, "This is for everyone's advantage." One amicus brief came from nearly 30 retired defense leaders, including Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf. They saw how the military suffered in Vietnam from a nearly lily-white officer corps and argued that the ability to recruit minority students for the academies has improved military leadership. Another brief came from 65 major U.S. corporations, including Beaverton-based Nike. Companies can't be globally competitive, they said, without diverse workforces hired from a pool of qualified graduates.
Colleges around the nation already are finding better ways to increase diversity, including mentoring programs that start young. That's great to see. It's just as heartening to see some of the United States' most powerful institutions champion this all-American maxim: The greatest number of individuals will thrive when every group has ample opportunities to succeed.
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