How Important IS Racial Diversity?
This is an intriguing part of both the presidents statement and the solicitor generals briefs. The president states he strongly supports all types of diversity, including racial diversity and that we should not be satisfied with the current number of minorities on American college campuses. In the Grutter brief, Olson states that including people of all races and ethnicities represents a paramount government objective. So is racial diversity important enough to constitute a compelling interest within the meaning of the 5th and 14th Amendments? If faced with the question in a press conference, the administration would be hard pressed for political reasons to answer in the negative. To do so would be to state that racial diversity is of paramount importance but not important enough to trigger a strict scrutiny analysis. Try explaining that to the American people. So, avoiding a Marks ruling in Gratz and Grutter means the administration can duck the legal issue of compelling interest and,
