As a result of race being a factor used in determining whether or not universities accept specific applicants, numerous lawsuits have been filed claiming that race-based decisions are unconstitutional, violating the fourteenth amendment. In the Supreme Court case DeFunis v. Odegaard, Marco DeFunis a white graduate from the University of Washington claimed he was “denied admission from the universities law school so that a less qualified minority student could be accepted” (Worsnop). The law school had received 1,600 applicants for 150 openings said that 36 minority students had been admitted with lower grades and test scores than DeFunis. Though this case was never decided because DeFunis was admitted during the deliberation, it demonstrates the problems and costs associated with using race in admission decisions.

Another case dealing with affirmative action is the University of California Regents v. Bakke in 1978. Allen Bakke was white male who had been denied admission to UC Davis’ medical school two years in a row and sued the university because his grades and test scores were better than most of the minority students who had been accepted. Due to affirmative action the school had set aside 16 spots for minorities in its medical school. The court ruled that the university could not set a fixed quota for minority students. However, they also ruled that a university could, “consider race as one of the many factors that determine which applicants are accepted” (Worsnop). Through this decision affirmative action was given more specific guidelines, while still being upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court. “In Bakke, the Court dismissed all arguments advanced by the University of California, Davis to justify race-conscious affirmative action programs in remedying past racial discrimination; instead, the Court only accepted the justification of diversity” (Harvey). Moreover, race-based admission was only justified as a means for promoting diversity in universities and should therefore be used to diversify.

Although the Bakke decision established more specific guidelines for affirmative actions, it was far from ending the debate as to whether race should be used or not. The Supreme Court cases Gratz v. Bollinger is an example that affirmative action is still highly debated today. Jennifer Gratz, a white female, claimed her rejection from the University of Michigan was unfair as lees qualified minorities were admitted over her. The court sided with the University of Michigan claiming its admission policies were fair, and correctly adhered to the Bakke decision, admitting minorities in order to promote diversity. Justice O’Connor supports affirmative action in her majority opinion: “The hallmark of that policy is its focus on academic ability coupled with a flexible assessment o