Russ Feingold: “I wish to address the importance of maintaining a commitment to affirmative action in college admissions programs.…”

“I wish to address the importance of maintaining a commitment to affirmative action in college admissions programs. President Bush, unfortunately, took our nation a step backward when he announced last week that his administration would file an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court opposing the admissions policies of the University of Michigan. The President apparently believes that college admissions decisions should never consider the race of applicants, even though he also says that he supports the pursuit of campus diversity. In 1978, in University of California v. Bakke, the Supreme Court ruled that campus diversity can be a "compelling governmental interest" that justifies reasonable, narrowly tailored affirmative action programs at universities. The Supreme Court said that colleges and universities cannot use quotas to achieve campus diversity, but affirmed that campus diversity can be a worthy goal of college admissions policies.”