ARTICLE REVIEW: POLICY AND NATIONAL AND LOCAL LAWS 2

Article Review: Policy and National and Local Laws

Rosenbaum, S., Teitelbaum, J., & Scott, J. (2013). Raising the Bar on Achieving Racial
Diversity in Higher Education: The United States Supreme Court’s Decision in Fisher
v University of Texas. Academic Medicine, 88(12), 1792–1794.
The Supreme court upheld the legality of having university admission practices that are race-
conscious with the aim of enhancing the representation of all races in the student population.
However, ten years after the decision was made, the Court made a ruling on the issue in Fisher v.
University of Texas. Although the court concluded that the need to have a diverse student
population justifies the use of a race-conscious admissions practice, the court changed the way
such techniques could be applied in the admissions process. The Supreme Court made a ruling
requiring universities that plan on using race-conscious admission practices first to show
evidence that no other practical race-neutral approaches an e used to achieve the same result
(Rosenbaum et al., 2013). The authors’ purpose in the article is to review the background and
history decisions made at the Supreme Court on ethnic and racial background as a critical
determinant of how admission practices are carried out with a specific focus on the impact of
Fisher v. the University of Texas on medical education.
The Supreme Court’s ruling changed the approach used by universities to achieve a diverse
student population. The institutions of higher learning must seek alternative ways to achieve the
benefits that diversity has on education. The decision made reaffirmed racial diversity as one of
the compelling interests in the country’s colleges and universities. It also laid the ground for
future legal battles challenging admission practices of universities that do not use race-neutral
ways (Rosenbaum et al., 2013). The burden has been shifted to Universities to prove the absence

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of any alternative method, which is race-neutral but can be used to achieve a diverse student
population.
Discrimination in medical care extends to the use of extended techniques to deny minority
patients quality care and the systematic move to deny qualified minority students admission into
medical schools. The authors review history where African American medical students were
only admitted in segregated schools and could only train in specific clinics and hospitals. Even
African American graduates who had passed well were denied admissions. Racial discrimination
was then eradicated as a formal construct that defined society. It was replaced with a deliberate
effort to unwind the damage caused by racial segregation. Reforms were instituted in medical
education as a way of correcting past wrongs and as a civil rights issue as well. a Supreme Court
decision then required universities to use race-conscious practices in their admissions to ensure
that they attained a diverse student body (Rosenbaum et al., 2013). This decision compelled
Abigail Fisher’s to file a lawsuit. She felt that she lost a chance at the university just because of
her race, yet she had met all the other entry requirements. According to Fisher, that amounted to
racial discrimination.
The Supreme Court admitted in its ruling that the issue of student diversity in colleges and
universities remains a compelling interest in government, which can indeed justify the use of
race-conscious admission practices. Student diversity in a college or university serves values
beyond race, including but are not limited to classroom discussions and lessening racial
stereotypes and isolation (Rosenbaum et al., 2013). Such benefits of having a diverse student
population enhance the missions of institutions of higher learning. However, the court stated that
the value of having a diverse student population depends on the ability of the admissions process

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to withstand public scrutiny. Therefore, the value of diversity and educational judgment does not
lie solely on an institution’s ability to achieve its mission.
The use of race-conscious admission practices amounts to racial discrimination. It is based on
the belief that one can tell when it is beneficial to discriminate against people based on their race
and harmful. An overtly discriminatory past cannot be corrected by a discrimination practice in
the current ay that aims at helping minorities while oppressing the majority (Rosenbaum et al.,
2013). Thus, diversity within institutions of higher learning can still be achieved using race-
neutral practices that do not discriminate against a particular race while favoring another.
Therefore, institutions must come up with permissible approaches and techniques aimed at
enhancing the diversity of the student population. An educational program is not safe from
litigation or public scrutiny. Thus, if an institution claims to aim at promoting diversity, it must
do so using practices that give a fair and equal chance to all applicants regardless of race.
In medical school, the issue of achieving diversity goes beyond helping an institution achieve
its mission. Evidence shows that the quality of healthcare care provided is impacted by whether
or not the medical professional shares the essential characteristics of their patients. Thus, the
benefits of diversity in medical schools exist outside of the education process itself as they
directly impact the experiences of the patients in the healthcare system (Rosenbaum et al., 2013).
Also, the process of admission into medical school is unique as it favors only those students who
are academically privileged. Thus, there is a possibility that the Supreme Court ruling will have
minimal impact on medical school admissions.
The article greatly informs and contributes to the topic of racial and ethnic diversity in higher
education. Through the article, I have abandoned some of the ideas I had on ways of enhancing
diversity in higher institutions. I thought that since the minority have been historically

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disadvantaged, practices in today’s higher institutions should favor them. I felt that the majority
should also experience racial discrimination as practices are aimed at enhancing diversity in
higher institutions of learning. Before interacting with the article, I thought that the only way to
achieve diversity is to give the minority a better chance to be admitted since they are already
underrepresented in higher education. However, my viewpoint has changed. Even as colleges
and universities seek to enhance diversity within their institutions, they must use constitutionally
acceptable practices. Diversity serves as a critical tenet in the achievement of an institution’s
missions and goals. However, institutions must not practice racial discrimination selectively with
the aim of benefiting certain races and harming others. Diversity must be enhanced through
alternative means that are not race-conscious but rather race-neutral. Diversity cannot only be
enhanced through race-conscious and discriminative practices. As such, institutions must devise
methods that uphold their values and missions, enhance diversity, and promote equality and
fairness.

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References

Rosenbaum, S., Teitelbaum, J., & Scott, J. (2013). Raising the Bar on Achieving Racial
Diversity in Higher Education: The United States Supreme Court’s Decision in Fisher
v University of Texas. Academic Medicine, 88(12), 1792–1794.