Texas University at Austin is being taken to court again. This time a student is suing the school concerning reverse discrimination.  The University has been at the center of lawsuits concerning its admissions policies in the past. In the first suit, Sweatt .v Painter, the law school was sued to allow minorities entrance. Sweatt won his case and gained admission to the law school. Later, in 1996, Cheryl Hopwood took the same University to court for reverse discrimination. She, like Sweatt won her suit and gained admission. The Hopwood decision opened the door to more reverse discrimination suits. It will be interesting to watch the university officials deal with this one. The president, William Powers, Jr. has gone on the record complaining that the school is not diverse enough. He advocated capping the number of people they accept under the 10% rule, so that they could create their ideal social training environment. He advocated wanting more minorities and other groups, despite what the 10% rule states.

It would benefit Texas is the best and the brightest were the students admitted, as advocated by the 10% rule.  It is sad that University officials systematically do not want the best and the brightest, but instead want some kind of magical social mix. It seems that obtaining the best quality education should be the goal for the school, but not in Austin. Dr. Ashbel Smith, the founding president, would not recognize what has become of this institution. In Austin, academic quality does not seem to matter, the issue that matters is what group you belong to.

In a free south, academic institutions would focus on the quality of instruction rather than some ideal social mix.

Free Texas!

J Murrah

Culture, Current Affairs, Hopwood decision, Hopwood v Texas, Sweatt decision, Sweatt v Painter, UT admission discrimination, UT admission policy, William Powers Jr.

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