One university's case for race

The court's decision could change the face of American higher education. Some fear it will shut the door on many minorities at elite institutions if "race conscious" admissions is outlawed.

Further complicating the case is the fact that most selective colleges and universities have long used arbitrary criteria in admission - not just scores and grades - because of diversity.

Few would want to attend a school where everyone is a bookworm - which is why some applicants are admitted in part because they play the flute or football. Others get in because their parents are big donors or alumni.

Universities have long relied on a 1978 Supreme Court ruling in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke that outlawed outright racial quotas in college admission, but permitted schools to give limited weight to race.

Still, that decision, written by Justice Lewis Powell Jr., has been under assault for a decade. In the wake of court reversals and voter referendums, states such as California and Florida have adopted race neutral "percent plans." In Texas, the top 10 percent of a high school graduating class wins automatic admission to a state school.

Such alternatives, however, have plenty of critics, who say unevenly funded and segregated K-12 schools often do a poor job preparing students. As a result, their top students may get into college but not succeed there.

1823: The first African-American to receive a US college degree, Alexander Twilight, graduates from Middlebury College in Vermont.

1896: Plessy v. Ferguson
Black shoemaker Homer Plessy sues when he is barred from a 'whites only' railroad car. The US Supreme Court rules that it is legal to maintain 'separate but equal' public facilities.

1954: Brown v. Board of Education
Linda Brown's family sues to allow the third-grader to attend a nearby white elementary school. The high court overturns Plessy v. Ferguson and orders public schools to integrate.

1962: James Meredith becomes the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Two students die in the ensuing riots.

1963: Gov. George Wallace bars the door of the University of Alabama to prevent two black students from enrolling.

1978: Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Allan Bakke sues when he is twice denied admission to a California medical school despite having better grades and test scores than some minority enrollees. The high court outlaws a racial quota system, but affirms race as a factor in school admissions.

1996: Hopwood v. Texas
Cheryl Hopwood, a white applicant, sues the University of Texas Law School when she is rejected and minority students with lower scores are accepted. The Fifth Circuit court rules that the affirmative-action system is discriminatory, ending all consideration of race in college admissions in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

1997: Grutter v. Bollinger
Barbara Grutter sues the University of Michigan for denying her admission to its law school, citing higher grades and test scores than some minority applicants who won admission. Her case goes to the US Supreme Court.

1997: Gratz v. Bollinger
Jennifer Gratz sues the University of Michigan after her undergraduate application is rejected. Her claim was denied by a federal district judge. Her case heads to the US Supreme Court.

2003: The US Supreme Court hears arguments on Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger. A decision is expected by July.

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