Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Link-http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/06/fisher_v_university_of_texas_the_supreme_court_might_just_gut_affirmative.html
Date- June 29, 2015
Summary: Abigail Fisher (a white female) in 2008 got rejected from University of Texas at Austin. In response to her rejection letter, she sued the university for rejecting her and blamed the admission process for considering "race and ethnicity in a 'holistic view' of certain candidates" (Bouie). After 7 years of going through a long legal process with the district and circuit court, she finally got her the approval by the United States Supreme Court to take on her case (7-1 ruling). UT Austin has countered to her by appealing that "Of the 841 students admitted under these criteria, 47 had worse AI/PAI scores (a combination of the holistic measure, grades, and test scores) than Fisher, and 42 of them were white. On the other end, UT rejected 168 black and Latino students with scores equal to or better than Fisher’s" (Bouie).
Question(s): Do you think the public university system for selecting students is fair? To what extent is Abigail Fisher's points are valid?
Your post uses data that appears to hurt Abbie. What is the criteria for getting in to UT? In fact, what's the criteria for a UC?
ReplyDeleteI thought this university selected students fairly. As mentioned in the blog, they rejected many applicants from other races that had better scores than her. I believe that UT's intent was to select who they believed to be the best students for that college, not to necessarily consider race or ethnicity. I'm not sure how she came to the conclusion that the University of Texas was basing it's students accepted off of race or ethnicity, so i don't know for sure if she had a reasonable claim. I'd assume she couldn't come up with a reasonable claim for the college being racist, because if she looked online and saw the students accepted and denied, she'd see the data the UT gave us above
ReplyDeleteI think that public universities should not view race or gender as an admission factor to their college. It is discriminatory and gives an unfair advantage to students just so a school can boast about it's diversity. Although many applicants were not admitted that were of a "minority" race and had a higher Test Score and G.P.A. than Abigail, Her point is still valid in that The University of Texas was trying to pick applicants based on the statistic breakdown of the ethnicities that were needed to make the University look more diverse.
ReplyDeleteI do think the university selected students fairly; as the statistics stated, a large number of minority students were rejected that had better scores than Abigail. Her claims that the university was discriminatory towards her, I found, had no real substance. However I don't agree that race or ethnicity should be a factor in admissions. Public schools not be allowed to base acceptance on racial or ethnic criteria in order to diversify its student body, instead admissions should be based around academics or athletics.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that the university system is fair. As shown in the stats, even more minorities were not accepted to the university, which shows that whites are taken into account just as much as people of other races are. The stat clearly shows that although diversity is important, that is not the one determining factor in admitting their students. I think that Fisher does have a point that looking at someone's ethnicity is not holistic, rather in the school's best efforts in making them appear diverse, but in this case, the school had a fair number of students not admitted that weren't white.
ReplyDeleteI think that in this case, Fisher did not have enough concrete evidence in her favor. I do not think that universities should base their acceptances on race and background, but I think the statistics in the article demonstrated that the University of Texas was not discriminating against white students. There were white students accepted that had worse grades than Fisher, and black and Latino students that were denied acceptance that had better grades. Fisher's claims that the university was discriminating against her because she was white are invalid.
ReplyDeleteI think that the University of Texas selects their students relatively fair and if they did have a bias, it would be in favor of white students. In this case, Abigail Fisher seems like an entitled, spoiled brat who always got what she wanted, until the University of Texas rejected her. Therefore, Fisher seems to have no validity in her argument as she seems to cause a ruckus just so UT can give in and accept her. Thankfully, UT stood their ground and continue to be a legitimate university.
ReplyDeleteI believe that FIsher was in the wrong for accusing the university of putting her at a disadvantage simply because of her race. She had no evidence that it was simply because of her race and gender that she was denied from the university. Although schools do take initiative to make their student bodies more diverse, their is no way to prove that universities make race a huge factor in the admissions process. At the end of the day, Fisher was simply upset because she didn't get into her choice college
ReplyDeleteI believe that FIsher was in the wrong for accusing the university of putting her at a disadvantage simply because of her race. She had no evidence that it was simply because of her race and gender that she was denied from the university. Although schools do take initiative to make their student bodies more diverse, their is no way to prove that universities make race a huge factor in the admissions process. At the end of the day, Fisher was simply upset because she didn't get into her choice college
ReplyDeleteAlthough the data seems to hint that there may be racial injustice in the application process, test scores are not the only considered component to them. Every student has there own story, and these are considered on a case by case basis. Also, the university must consider the student's fit on the campus. Both of these components have almost nothing to with test scores, but rather life experience and maturity. Getting into college today is a struggle for many students, and, in my opinion, sueing a university for denying acceptance shows immaturity for not understanding that test scores are simply a number, and do not describe each applicant's potential as clearly as the essay and interview.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Fisher did not have a justified reason to take this case to court. She has no direct evidence that her denial was based solely upon her gender and ethnicity, and therefore wrongfully accused the university of being discriminatory against her. Not only that, however, but she wrongfully accuses it of being discriminatory to those of other races as well. She does not even take into account other deciding factors that would lead colleges to either accept or reject applicants, including (but not limited to): sports, volunteer work, college essays, etc. Therefore, it is extremely unreasonable for Fisher to be making these assumptions when she does not even know all the information herself. I believe that the university was just in its decision process regarding applicants and that Fisher was unjust in accusing them of being discriminatory towards her.
ReplyDeleteFisher has no point in this. Other people with BETTER scores than her were rejected. She also forgets that it is the University's choice who they want to accept and who they do not. I personally don't think the applicant selection system is all that fair, but there is nothing you can do about it as it is their school and therefore their choice.
ReplyDeleteFisher did not have any substantial evidence to support her case, therefore, she was wrong to accuse the university of rejecting her based on her race. To be fair, acceptance process for each university is corrupt and desperately in need of reform, but that does not mean that Fisher was right to sue. The article said that UT accepted many more white people were accepted than people of color who had equal or better test scores, which goes to show that the university, in fact, did not reject her based on race.
ReplyDeleteFisher did not have any substantial evidence to support her case, therefore, she was wrong to accuse the university of rejecting her based on her race. To be fair, acceptance process for each university is corrupt and desperately in need of reform, but that does not mean that Fisher was right to sue. The article said that UT accepted many more white people were accepted than people of color who had equal or better test scores, which goes to show that the university, in fact, did not reject her based on race.
ReplyDeleteThe issue with public universities is that it's hard to determine who should and who should not be admitted to schools that are all funded by state taxes which everyone pays. However, not all people of the same state have the same background or opportunities so it's hard to argue that only the most qualified applicants should be permitted to these schools. For this reason, I believe it's very justified for schools to keep race and background in mind when selecting students as some races have been historically underappreciated by the educational system in comparison to others.
ReplyDeleteFisher's attempt to blame a public institution of racism just for not accepting her is rather absurd. Color aside, schools like University of Texas need to select from a daunting pool of applicants as space is limited in each class. The evidence against Fisher demonstrates that she was just not an attractive candidate for the school and far more people of color at a similar caliber as Fisher were rejected as well. The University did what it could to consider Fisher as an applicant and simply decided she was not good enough, which is fair process for a public university. The idea of affirmative action really did not have much to do with the school's decision to reject Fisher, contrary to what Fisher may believe. Simply put, if Fisher wanted to attend University of Texas, she should have tried harder to get there instead of blaming the admissions officers of racial prejudice.
ReplyDeleteFisher's case hints at the possibility of racial discrimination but given her evidence of lower test scores based on race it is rather sickening that she would try and use this to sue a school like The University of Texas. At the end of the day the universities admissions process is solely based on quality and character of the individuals that applied to the University.
ReplyDeleteI think public universities' affirmative action programs are good. They give a chance for those who have faced institutional discrimination all of their lives some chance for success. I would like to see affirmative action be based on socioeconomic status though, since based on statistics, the socioeconomic status you had at birth is most likely the one you're going to have throughout your life.
ReplyDeleteBased on the evidence that University of Texas give, none of Fisher's points are correct. There were many minorities who tested better or as well as she did and didn't get in. If she wanted to get in, maybe she should have done better instead of blaming minorities.
There is possible the public university selecting student unfairly, but there is no enough statistic to prove that. Fisher did not make any point because the university should not judge students base on score or race only. The admisson office should always be fair on each student base on the acadamic, score, and out school activity.
ReplyDeleteFisher is making an argument based on race, which may be true to a small degree. However, in order to enter the college, she must have an acceptable GPA and test score. Fisher did not have strong test scores to get into the college with is reasonable. It may be that those who had lower GPA and test scores were athletes. Thus, it is hard to conclude that race was the primary factor for the decision. Fisher made a decent argument, but it isn't strong enough to get accepted into the college.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the universities actions were completely justified. Fisher's argument largely rested on the idea that her scores being better than others meant that she deserved to be there more. Studies have shown that if universities threw out the top 1,000 students accepted, the next 1,000 students are just as capable. In addition to this, I believe accepting people on the basis of their race can be very valuable. In fact, I even think that it makes certain indeviduals more qualified. Certain races are incredibly underrepresented in certain areas of society, so bringing them in based on race alone brings a life perspective that is unfairly absent.
ReplyDeleteI think that the way that the universities select students are good.Fishers debate was focused on race when the selection process is based on erectile and scores.To an extent Fishers points are valid. For example she believes that races should be portrayed better than what others think.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the way public universities accept students can be improved so that there is a certain level of weight on both academics as well as background and character, but for the most part, the schools are doing a good job with looking at the whole student. Since there are so many people wanting to get into a college there is a concern on how admissions are run.
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ReplyDeleteFisher was out of line to accuse a university for not accepting her by taking race into consideration. Universities should try their best to include underrepresented students, and students that don't have the same opportunities as others. Students that face de facto discrimination don't have to worry about their race being a hindrance to their education.
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