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From VOA Learning English, |
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this is the Education Report. |
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Reaction appears mixed to a recent |
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United States Supreme Court decision |
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on affirmative action in university admissions. |
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Affirmative action in admissions |
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means that schools give special consideration |
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to some racial or ethnic minorities. |
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The goal is to create a more diverse campus, |
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and to give more opportunities to groups |
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that are under-represented in higher education. |
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The Supreme Court ruled that race |
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can be one of many factors considered |
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when a student applies to a college or university. |
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The court said education |
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benefits from having diverse student populations. |
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Some legal experts expressed surprise at the decision. |
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They thought the justices would strike down |
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a 2003 Supreme Court ruling. |
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That ruling let universities use race in admissions decisions, |
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but also said race needs to be just one factor among others. |
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In the new decision, |
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the justices did not deal with |
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the question of affirmative action itself |
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as many observers had expected. |
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The court did not decide whether the idea |
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violates the right of equal protection under the law, |
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as guaranteed by the constitution. |
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Instead, the justices sent the case |
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back to a lower court for further consideration. |
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A white woman who had been denied admission |
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to the University of Texas at Austin brought the legal case. |
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Abigail Fisher argued that it was wrong to reject her, |
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when minority students with similar grades |
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and test scores were accepted because of affirmative action. |
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Wade Henderson is president of the Leadership Conference |
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on Civil and Human Rights. |
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He said the new decision reconfirms that it is an America's |
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interest to increase opportunities for everyone. |
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Justice Clarence Thomas, |
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the only African-American on the Supreme Court, |
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voted with the majority but wrote a separate opinion. |
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His opinion strongly attacked affirmative action |
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in college admissions as violating the constitution. |
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He also said that the diversity by itself |
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does not have any educational benefit. |
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Ada Meloy is general counsel for the non-profit American Council on Education. |
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"...that the colleges and universities should have the right |
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to decide upon who will be admitted to the institution. |
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And those that feel they need to consider race or ethnicity |
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and make that decision should be able to do so, |
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in line with the law that has been proclaimed |
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by the Supreme Court since the 1970's." |
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She said it was not clear how many of the 4,000 or so |
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higher learning institutions in the United States |
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use those criteria in deciding which student to accept. |
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Ms. Meloy said many of the schools do not generally |
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give special consideration to their applicants' race or ethnicity. |
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And that's the Education Report from VOA Learning English. |
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I'm Karen Leggett. |