Background
Summary and Questions
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Beginning
in the early 1970s, the medical school of the University
of California at Davis used a two-part admissions program
for the 100 students entering each year: a regular admissions
program and a special admissions program. The purpose
of this program was to try to increase the number of
minority and "disadvantaged" students in the
class, so the 16 spots in the special admissions program
were reserved for "qualified" minority and
disadvantaged students.
Under
the regular admissions program, if a candidate had an
overall undergraduate grade point average below 2.5
on a scale of 4.0, the candidate was automatically rejected.
Candidates who were not automatically rejected were
evaluated using other criteria such as math and science
grades, MCAT scores, letters of recommendation, and
an interview.
On
the application form, candidates could indicate that
they wanted to be considered economically and/or educationally
disadvantaged or members of a minority group. Applications
of those who did so were sent to the special admissions
program where a separate committee, composed mainly
of members of minority groups, evaluated them. The applicants
in the special admissions program did not have to meet
the same standards as the regular candidates, including
the 2.5 grade point average cut off.
From
1971 to 1974 the special program resulted in the admission
of 21 black students, 30 Mexican Americans, and 12 Asians,
for a total of 63 minority students.* During the same
period, the regular admissions program admitted 1 black
student, 6 Mexican Americans, and 37 Asians, for a total
of 44 minority students. No disadvantaged white candidates
received admission through the special program.
Allan
Bakke was a white male who applied to and was rejected
from the regular admissions program in 1973 and 1974.
During those years, applicants with lower scores were
admitted under the special program. After his second
rejection, Bakke filed suit in the Superior Court of
Yolo County, California. He claimed that the special
admissions program violated the Equal Protection Clause
of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 because it excluded him on the basis
of race. He wanted the Court to force the University
of California at Davis to admit him to the medical school.
The
Superior Court of Yolo County, California and the Supreme
Court of California both found that the special admissions
program violated the federal and state constitutions,
as well as Title VI, and was therefore illegal. The
Superior Court declared that race could not be taken
into account when making admissions decisions but also
ruled that Bakke should not be admitted to the medical
school because he failed to show that he would have
been admitted even without the special admissions program.
The Supreme Court of California, however, determined
that Bakke should be admitted to the school.
The
Regents of the University of California then appealed
the case to the Supreme Court of the United States.
*Note:
These were the racial classifications used by the University
of California at Davis at the time.
Questions to
Consider:
- Why
would a college or university want to consider race
as a factor in the admissions process? Do you think
it is appropriate for a college or university to do
so? Why or why not?
-
Both the California Superior and California Supreme
Courts agreed on what two facts in their Bakke rulings?
-
Do you agree with the lower courts' decisions? Why
or why not?
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