Court will not review Hopwood decision

In what could set a gloomy precedent for future court cases involving affirmative action programs, the United States Supreme Court decided Monday that it would not review an appeal made by the University of Texas in the case Hopwood vs. Texas.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in a one-paragraph opinion that the court would not review the case because it did not present a "live controversy," since the school no longer uses an admissions system with separate requirements for white and nonwhite applicants.

The Supreme Court's decision not to review the case upholds the March ruling made by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, declaring that the University of Texas could not use race as a factor in its admissions decisions.

Cheryl Hopwood, a white working mother, along with three other white males, filed a suit against the UT-Austin law school when they were denied admission. They claimed they were victims of an affirmative action program which gave preferences to blacks and Latinos.

Jeffrey Tsai, student body president at UT-Austin, said he was surprised the Court rejected the case.

"I think in many ways this would've been a test case for affirmative action," Tsai said. "I was taken aback, to say the least."

Tsai said many of the undergraduate student body, 27 percent of which are minorities, strongly opposed the decision made by the 5th Circuit Court.

William Cunningham, chancellor of the University of Texas system, said in a written statement that the Texas schools would remain "firmly dedicated to the principle of equal educational opportunity for all citizens of Texas."

Although the 5th Circuit Court's decision will only affect public universities in the fifth district - Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi - many in the academic community view the ruling as a threat to affirmative action programs at all universities.

"In my view, this is the most serious threat to affirmative action," said Sue Rasmussen, director of the University's affirmative action programs. "I think the U.S. Supreme Court is influenced by the political reality, which is conservative toward affirmative action."

University Provost J. Bernard Machen said the University would continue to consider race in its admissions policies.

"We believe our current policies are consistent and legal with the law of the land until something else happens," Machen said.

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