Tufts to file Supreme Court brief today

Tufts and almost 30 other schools will file a brief today supporting the University of Michigan's affirmative action policies.

The brief is intended to defend the former precedent set in the 1978 case California v. Bakke. In that case, Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. decided that while quotas could not be used in admissions, schools could give some consideration to race in order to encourage a more diverse student body.

Currently, Michigan uses a point system where prospective undergraduates are evaluated using a 150 point system. Twenty points are given to certain minorities, those with a socio-economic disadvantage, and scholarship athletes. However a perfect essay receives only three points and leadership and service or personal achievement on state, regional and national levels receives only one, three, and five points respectively.

The law school's policy is not as clear, but according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, Michigan's admissions office "attempts to enroll a 'critical mass' of minority students."

Tufts will be joined by other schools such as Amherst, Williams, Bates, and Wesleyan. Charles Sims, a lawyer at Proskauer Rose LLP in New York who is filing the brief, categorized the schools as "reasonably small, highly selective institutions."

Distinct issues that pertain to this group of private schools make it beneficial for them to file the brief together, Sims said.

The final decision on the case is likely to once again be split, Sims said. "It will be surprising if there is anything more than a 5-4 vote either way." He said it was also possible that the decision will be even further split, perhaps 4-1-1.

Sims hopes that the decision will at least partly resolve the ongoing debate over the extent to which race may be a factor in admittance.

Depending on the nature of the ruling, it could affect Tufts because while the University is private, it receives federal funds.

But the final decision may not give schools explicit guidelines for incorporating affirmative action into their own admittance policies, according to Martin Michaelson, a Washington lawyer who advises colleges on affirmative action. "The court will likely give guidance," he said. "But I doubt that the court's answer will be so exact that a template can be laid upon the admissions system of a university without some thought on how to apply those standards."

President Bush also filed a brief through the Justice Department opposing Michigan's affirmative action policies, which he believes to be unconstitutional. The State of Florida and a number of conservative and libertarian advocacy organizations also submitted opinions opposing the university's policies.

A poll published earlier this month by TheLos Angeles Times found that a majority of Americans support the Bush administration's move.

"The American people do not support a system of preferences and quotas," said Diane Schachterle, a spokeswoman for the American Civil Rights Institute.

There is, however, a racial split between high-ranking officials in the Bush administration over the policies. Secretary of State Colin Powell currently supports Michigan, while National Security Adviser Condolezza Rice supports affirmative action, though not Michigan's specific techniques.

Many universities around the country are reconsidering programs that were aimed at involving minority students, or to help them adjust to university life. Following an investigation by the Department of Education, MIT has opened three of its programs -- Project Interphase, for incoming freshman, and Minority Introduction to Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and Science for high school juniors -- to all applicants, instead of just minorities.

Princeton University has also announced that starting next year, its Junior Summer Institute, which is aimed at getting minority students interested in public affairs, will be open to all applicants, though the university may drop the program all together.

Private companies have also become interested in the debate. More than three hundred of America's largest companies filed a brief defending Michigan, although without stating their support outright, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. They feel that "diversity in higher education is essential to employers in meeting their business-related diversity needs."

Other professional organizations, such as the American Bar Association and the American Medical Association, and companies including General Motors, Microsoft, and American Airlines support affirmative action policy.

A decision in the Michigan case could possibly affect professional recruiting and hiring policies, they say.

President Larry Bacow announced the University's plan to file the brief when he spoke earlier this semester at a Martin Luther King Jr. day ceremony.

According to Dean of Admissions David Cuttino, Tufts does not use quotas or any arbitrary means, but that it instead evaluates each application holistically. He said the University is "acting 'affirmatively' for all students" by evaluating diversity of experiences, not just race.

The Supreme Court will evaluate the Michigan law school and undergraduate cases together, starting this April. Its decisions are expected by June.