Date of Award
Spring 2013
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Public Administration (MPA)
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Dr. Andrew Ewoh
Abstract
This paper looks at the current case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin in conjunction with previous affirmative action cases. I question what the Court’s decision for the Fisher case will be and what this means for future affirmative action policies in higher education. I pose the question: Is affirmative action still needed today? I use court documents from the current Fisher case and literature on previous cases to help answer this question.
I discussed the Court Justices upbringing and how these will affect their decisions in this case. I examined previous affirmative action cases that some of the Justices worked on and what their decisions were. I considered these decisions along with interviews from journalists and opinions to arrive at my final conclusions. I contend that with an absent liberal Justice and strong voices of opposition against affirmative action by other Justices, the future of affirmative action policies existence is not certain.