Bakke v. Regents of the University of California

Paper Summary:

This paper addresses the issue of affirmative action, reverse discrimination and the court case of Bakke vs. Regents of the University of California. Bakke was a white male who applied to Davis in 1973 and 1974 under the general admissions program. He was rejected in spite of having higher scores and grades than many minority applicants who were admitted and sued on the grounds that no person should be denied participation in any program receiving federal funding for reasons of race or color. It evaluates how the issue of affirmative action remains a difficult one for Americans to this day and how it is often characterized as a quota system, though quotas need not be part of affirmative action at all. The Bakke case was an early challenge to affirmative action but did not end it by any means. The trial court found that the special program did operate as a racial quota and that the program violated the Federal and State Constitutions and Title VI.

From the Paper:

"Actually, the Supreme Court refused to review the Hopwood decision. In a separate case in 2000, an appeals court upheld the affirmative action policies of the University of Washington and cited the Bakke decision as the law. The Supreme Court in 2001 let this decision stand, thus leaving the decision in place that found achieving diversity to be an adequate justification for public colleges to consider race in admissions. This was a victory for supporters of affirmative action, a group which includes most college officials."

More papers on Bakke v. Regents of the University of California:

• Analytical Essay # 117558 : "Regents of the University of California v. Allan Bakke"
• Argumentative Essay # 62255 : "Affirmative Action"
• Analytical Essay # 116375 : "Affirmative Action"

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