Supreme Court to hear University of Michigan case today

The US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in the University of Michigan''s affirmative action case. When the court delivers its decision, expected in June, it could set a defining precedent on how diversity can be considered in college admissions process.

The university, a public institution, is currently facing legal action from two white students rejected from the University who claim that their race disadvantaged them in the admissions process and that the rejection later lessened the professional opportunities availed to them.

The cases have sparked an affirmative action debate unlike any seen since the court ruled 5-4 in 1978 to outlaw racial quotas in university admissions but allowed race to be considered as a factor.

Applicants for Michigan''s undergraduate classes are scored by points, with minorities, some underprivileged applicants and some athletes receiving a boost of 20 points on a scale of 150. The school also awards points based on alumni relationships, Michigan residency and residency in underrepresented Michigan counties. The law school uses a looser formula that aims for a "critical mass" in minority enrollment.

Tufts, along with other universities, organizations, and individuals, has filed an amicus brief in support of Michigan''s current policies.

The brief was filed in February on behalf of Tufts and 27 other colleges and universities, including Amherst, Bowdoin, Davidson, Middlebury, Vassar, and Williams. The brief supports Michigan''s policy of considering race and other non-academic factors in its admissions process.

"Private, highly selective colleges have a compelling educational interest in enrolling highly diverse -- including racially diverse -- classes, and cannot do so without taking the diversity they strive for into account," the brief said. "Thirty-five years [after its implementation], the colleges'' experience demonstrates that affirmative action has had educational benefits -- and benefits for American society."

Sixty other briefs were filed in support of Michigan by 65 Fortune 500 companies, 12 Democratic Senators, several important figures in the US Military, and numerous other colleges and private organizations.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, even though the amount of support found in the amicus briefs is unprecedented, most of the documents will be merely skimmed by clerks, and a majority of legal analysts believe that the justices will only look at very few of those submitted.

"There is at least a possibility of backfire," Emory University law professor David L. Garrow told the Chronicle. "The greater the number of amicus briefs, the lower the chances the justices themselves will flip through them."

As a private institution, Tufts would not be directly bound by a decision against Michigan, although the University could be compelled to comply because it receives some government funding. In any case, the ruling would stand as an important precedent that could affect how the University''s admissions office uses an affirmative action policy.

Tufts'' current policy, according to the admissions web page, includes "a commitment to enroll students from a wide variety of backgrounds, perspectives and interests, including ethnic and cultural experiences, who will make study on the university campus more rewarding and productive."

The lawsuit to be heard today began in 1997 when Barbara Grutter, now 49, sued Michigan''s Law School upon her rejection. Grutter felt that her application hadn''t been properly considered because of her race. While a district court ruled in favor of Grutter, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit overturned the case.

Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher, now 25 and 24, respectively, also filed a suit against the university after they were rejected from the university''s undergraduate school.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.