The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke that college admissions offices can give only slight consideration to race, and then only for the sake of advancing students’ educational interests, not to remedy societal discrimination or to increase diversity. That ruling has reverberated through higher education in the decades since. “In initial reactions to the decision,” we reported, “both sides claimed at least a partial victory.” And battles over affirmative action have continued unabated. Allan Bakke, the plaintiff in 1978, went on to graduate from the medical school at UC-Davis and became an anesthesiologist in Minnesota.
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