Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
Classifying Arguments in the Case

The following is a list of arguments from the University of California v. Bakke court case. Read through each argument and decide which side it supports. Write your answer in the space provided.
(UC)  the argument supports the university's side
(AB)  the argument supports supports Bakke's side
(B)  the argument supports both sides
(N)  the argument supports neither side

_____1. The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution states: "No State shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

_____2. The Fourteenth Amendment does not allow a state to impose distinctions based upon race. The belief that some forms of discrimination based on race might be "benign" is irrelevant to the demands of the Fourteenth Amendment.

_____3. The Fourteenth Amendment states that people should be treated equally; it does not state that people should be treated the same. Treating people equally means giving them what they need.

_____4. "In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way. And in order to treat some persons equally, we must treat them differently. We cannot—we dare not—let the Equal Protection Clause perpetuate racial supremacy."

_____5. The special admissions program at the University of California at Davis medical school did not consider only those of minority races, but (in 1973) also considered white students who had been educationally and/or economically disadvantaged.

_____6. The Fourteenth Amendment gives the right to equal protection to individuals, not groups.

_____7. "Benign" discrimination based on race is only valid where an individual can point to specific acts of discrimination that have disadvantaged that person.

_____8. Benefits provided to individuals because of alleged group discrimination are not valid under the Fourteenth Amendment.

_____9. "It is unnecessary in twentieth-century America to have individual Negroes demonstrate that they have been victims of racial discrimination; the racism of our society has been so pervasive that none, regardless of wealth or position, has managed to escape its impact."

_____10. Some candidates admitted in the special admissions program at the University of California at Davis had lower GPAs than those who were rejected in the regular admissions program.

_____11. Though there were white applicants who asked to be considered disadvantaged, none were actually admitted through the special admissions program.

_____12. Three times as many Asians were admitted through the regular admissions program as were admitted in the special admissions program.

Predict the Supreme Court's decision in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. Write your prediction below in paragraph form. Be sure to explain the facts supporting your prediction.

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Diagram of How the Case Moved Through the Court System
 
Listen to the Oral Arguments
 
Key Excerpts from the Opinion
 
Full Text of the Opinion

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Activities
    The Case
You Decide: Who Should Be Admitted?
 
Classifying Arguments in the Case
 
A Comparison of the University of California at Davis' Admissions System to that of Harvard
 
Background Information on Affirmative Action from the Affirmative Action and Diversity Project

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    After the Case
The Court Revisits Bakke 25 Years Later: The Michigan Affirmative Action Cases
 
Drawing Mixed Reactions: Political Cartoons in Response to the Michigan Affirmative Action Cases
 
The Race Neutral Admissions Race
 

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Additional Resources

Split Decision on Affirmative Action
 
An Ode to Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr.: The Supreme Court Approves the Consideration if Race as a Factor in Admissions by Public Institutions of Higher Education
 

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