Case Study: Fisher vs The University of Texas at Austin

Jan 2011 Fifth Circuit Court Fisher appealed to this court to pray for the court to vacate to quash the decision of the District Court The court concurred with the ruling of the lower Court, but it pointed out that strict scrutiny should be applied when evaluating the constitutionality of a race-based admission policy.

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Sept 2011 Supreme Court Fisher requests the Supreme Court to review the decision of the Fifth Court The Supreme Court agrees to hear the case

2012 Supreme Court Through oral arguments, Fisher asks the court to consider the decision of the Fifth Court The Supreme court sets aside the decision of the Fifth Court and refers the matter to it for reconsideration

2014 Fifth Circuit Court The issue is brought back to the court for reconsideration Again, this court holds that Fisher had failed to bring a case against the University and asserted the constitutionality of the admission criteria.

2016 Supreme Court The supreme court accepts to hear the case for a second time to determine the constitutionality of the admission criteria of the University. Through a majority opinion, the Supreme Court that the admission criteria for the University is constitutional and does not amount to a violation of the Equal Protection Clause

Diversity in education has a direct has an immediate effect on the learning and the involvement of the students in school activities. Diversity in the school environment can influence the behavior and abilities of the students later in life. The administration of the University had in mind these considerations, and that is why they put in place several factors in their admission program to consider so as to enhance diversity in the student body. There are multiple theoretical foundations emphasize the importance of diversity in higher education (Banks, 2015).

Erick Erickson introduced the theory of identity whereby he postulated that during the identity of a person is formed during the young age and early childhood. It is imperative to note that Erick defined a character to comprise two elements whereby one involves consistency in behavior within oneself and the second one to include the consistent sharing with other people. It is this second component the admission program of Texas University had in mind when establishing multi-faceted admission criteria. In his theory of identity, Erick held that young people need a diverse social setting where they can experiment, before making a decision as to which relationships to hold on to and which philosophies to adopt in life. The admission system at Texas University brings together people with different talents, personalities, and different cultures. Therefore, this diverse environment gives students a chance to confront diverse and complex situations whereby they are forced to think carefully about choices rather than just passively making commitments (Allen, 2015).

The Texas University admission criterion is specifically designed to take advantage of this developmental stage. A bigger percentage of the students at the University are resident students who live away from home, and thus school separates them from their past and ordinary experiences. The new school environment presents to the students an opportunity to experiment with new cultures, roles, and even relationships. These changes teach the students to be flexible an attribute that is essential in their careers. This period gives the students a time to experiment and explore in a new environment before they consciously make adult commitments with their lives (OGrady, 2014).

A school that deals with racially and culturally diverse students encourages deep thinking. The racially diverse student body is essential to provide the mode of thinking that the educators require of the students especially in light of the history of discrimination in America. The court pointed out in its majority decision in the case of Fisher v Texas University, that the considering race in university admissions is permissible as long as it is not racially oppressive. As educators work hard towards eliminating racial discrimination, they should put it into practice by first showing racial equity in the student populations. Such initiatives are important because they shape the attitudes of the students whereby they relate with what they hear in class. Considering that most of the students come from segregated backgrounds, it is important for them to be trained to overcome discrimination and having diverse student body is likely to change student's attitudes (Chambers & Burkhardt, 2015).

Psychologists have shown that mixed groups of people working together produce better results than homogenous people. Empirical evidence had been obtained showing the impact of diverse groups of individuals works better together than people from the same culture. People from different cultures portray a bigger potential for critical thinking possibly because, in a group of with diverse social experiences and cultures there is little chance for group think', a situation whereby the members of a group conform to the same mentality (Nakanishi & Yamano, 2015).

Moreover, racial diversity is intended to encourage democracy. Political analysts point out that early philosophers in Greece were afraid of diversity such as Plato only envisioned a state in which a homogenous citizenry formed the basis of unity. However, this opinion changed over time, and there came a new generation of philosophers who acknowledged diversity as a tool for advancing democracy. Aristotle pointed out that it is possible for people to find unity through their underlying differences. In his political theory, Aristotle posited that it is possible to achieve agreement through differences and that a democracy founded on diversity is likely to last more than one that based on homogeneity of its citizens. Diversity recognizes the equality of its citizens a feature which goes to the heart of democratic ideals. Democracy is more about inclusion and tolerance.

Therefore, the admission criteria at Texas University aims at promoting democracy within the school. When the student body is racially balanced, there id 1greater unity among the students since everyone feels represented. Racial balance is one of the ways that ensure that a student has legitimacy and that it has the public trust ( Gruenwald & Smith, 2015)

There is also intellectual, and developmental theories support cultural diversity within the student body. According to psychologists students are likely to develop the capacity to appreciate the feelings of others by interacting with people who possess different emotions. A diverse environment triggers the student to adopt an advanced level of reasoning whereby they question and engage in debates with people who are their peers. In a similar setup, the students are bound to be limited to one point of view which is shaped by the authority. However, in a diverse population the students are induced to debate with their peers, and through such experiences, they gain emotional intelligence that enables them to know how other people feel and think. In similar environments, students learn to accept what the parents and teachers say, however in an environment with diverse cultures they encounter different points of view and debates issues with their...