NEW ORLEANS – Two White students who were denied admission to the University of Texas at Austin asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to rule that the school impermissibly uses race in its undergraduate admissions decisions.
A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t indicate when it will rule after hearing arguments in the case brought by Abigail Fisher and Rachel Michalewicz, who were denied admission to UT’s 2008 freshman class.
U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks of Austin dismissed the students’ lawsuit last year. They appealed, claiming UT’s consideration of race in its admissions process is unconstitutional because it pursues a representational goal rather an educational one.
“A brute-force solution that says, ‘If I admit more minorities, I’m going to solve the problems,’ is not going to work,” said Bert Rein, an attorney for the students.
But a lawyer for the state says the university’s 2005 admissions policy was drafted to adhere to a 2003 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding affirmative action at the University of Michigan’s law school.
5th Circuit Judge Patrick Higginbotham seemed to agree, saying the UT system was “plainly crafted very, very carefully to comply with (the 2003 decision).”
“It appears to use race contextually,” the judge said.
