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 cannotwe dare notlet 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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