The case that has been brought upon us today talks about how Allan Bakke was discriminated against The University of California Davis. For background, Allan Bakke is a white man with an exceptional 3.46 GPA. He applied to UC Davis medical school twice and both times was rejected by the admissions committee. Bakke sued the University claiming that they violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The only thing that The University of California Davis is trying to do is to give minorities an equal chance for education.
African Americans suffered centuries of slavery and segregation that gave them educational and economic disadvatages. The effect of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 60s called for change and an end to segregation and inequality. Not only did the movement call for the end of segregation and inequality but also special advantages for minorities in federal contracts and college admissions. President Lyndon B. Johnson came up with the idea of affirmative action because he thought that equal opportunity was not enough. He thought that affirmative action or “preferential consideration” was necessary to truly bring equality to all.
With this idea of affirmative action, The University of California took advantage of this opportunity to come up with a special admissions program for minority students applying to their medical school. What the University did is set aside 16 out of the 100 admissions spots for minority applicants. This new system gave back to the minorities and it should not be something to complain about. All the University wanted to do is to give minorities a chance to have a college education. With the past history on the treatment of African Americans is poor, the least the University can do is give them this opportunity to feel equal.
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