FEATURED DEBATE

The Equal Protection Clause Forbids Racial Preferences in State University Admissions

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that: "No State shall … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Yet many state universities give substantial preferences to certain races in their admissions decisions. In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), the Supreme Court approved such preferences, but the case was close, and controversial, and the question will be back before the Supreme Court this term. One side may argue that these preferences level the playing field, remedy prior discrimination, and enhance diversity within the classroom, thus redeeming the true promise…

December 3, 2015
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Roger Clegg

FOR THE MOTION

Roger Clegg
President & General Counsel for the Center for Equal Opportunity
Stuart Taylor Jr.

FOR THE MOTION

Stuart Taylor Jr.
Nonresident Fellow for Brookings , Co-Author of ‘Mismatch’
Deborah Archer

AGAINST THE MOTION

Deborah Archer
Director at the Racial Justice Project , Professor at New York Law School
Erwin Chemerinsky

AGAINST THE MOTION

Erwin Chemerinsky
Dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law

FEATURED DEBATE

December 3, 2015
LEARN MORE

The Equal Protection Clause Forbids Racial Preferences in State University Admissions

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that: "No State shall … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Yet many state universities give substantial preferences to certain races in their admissions decisions. In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), the Supreme Court approved such preferences, but the case was close, and controversial, and the question will be back before the Supreme Court this term. One side may argue that these preferences level the playing field, remedy prior discrimination, and enhance diversity within the classroom, thus redeeming the true promise…

Roger Clegg

FOR THE MOTION

Roger Clegg
President & General Counsel for the Center for Equal Opportunity
Stuart Taylor Jr.

FOR THE MOTION

Stuart Taylor Jr.
Nonresident Fellow for Brookings , Co-Author of ‘Mismatch’
Deborah Archer

AGAINST THE MOTION

Deborah Archer
Director at the Racial Justice Project , Professor at New York Law School
Erwin Chemerinsky

AGAINST THE MOTION

Erwin Chemerinsky
Dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law

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