College officials cheer a ruling that deals with the thorny affirmative action issue.
By Lindsay Tice
Staff Writer

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the University of Michigan could consider race when making admissions decisions.

But in a separate ruling, the court said it was unconstitutional for the school to assign a specific value to race through a point system.

Maine’s three prestigious private colleges lauded the decisions.

“This is a very sensible, middle-of-the-road decision,” said Bill Hiss, a spokesman for Bates College in Lewiston. “Admissions ought to be done holistically, with a variety of factors weighed.”

At the University of Michigan, undergraduate officials use a 150-point scale to determine admittance, giving students points for their application essay, high school grades and other factors. Twenty points are given to minority students. Applicants need 100 points to get in.

At the university’s law school, officials don’t use a point system. Instead, they look at test scores, undergraduate grades and “soft variables,” such as an applicant’s enthusiasm, special talents and race.

The Supreme Court cases evolved from two suits filed by three students against the University of Michigan.

In one case, two qualified white students were denied admission to the university’s undergraduate program. They claimed that the university unfairly gave extra points to other applicants based solely on their race.

In the second case, a white student was denied admission to the university’s law school. She claimed that she was discriminated against because she wasn’t a minority student.

In both cases, the university said it had to look at race in order to ensure diversity.

Praise from Maine

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that it was unconstitutional for the University of Michigan to award points to applicants based on race.

It ruled 5-4 that the law school had a right to look generally at race when considering individuals and the diversity of its campus.

Justices said that the law school’s admissions process, unlike the undergraduate point system, “is flexible enough to ensure that each applicant is evaluated as an individual and not in a way that makes race or ethnicity the defining feature of the application.”

Officials from Bates, Bowdoin and Colby praised the court’s decision.

At Bates, Hiss said he was happy to see the court ban what he called a “mechanical point system” that doesn’t take applicants as individuals.

“In Bates’ view, that’s perfectly sensible,” he said.

But he was also happy to see the court didn’t force the school to become completely race blind.

In February, Bates, Bowdoin and Colby officials filed a “Friend of the Court” Brief in the University of Michigan cases. Officials from the three Maine schools and 20 other small liberal arts colleges said they supported affirmative action, endorsing it as the best way to guarantee a diverse student body and a good education for their students.

“It’s an important part of learning to work and function in a diverse world,” said Stephen Collins, communications director at Colby College in Waterville.

While they don’t use a point system, Bates, Bowdoin and Colby do use some sort of affirmative action. Officials look at each applicant by considering grades, talents and an interview with college faculty, among other things. Race is one of those factors.

Had the Supreme Court ruled that the Michigan law school could not consider race – even outside a point system – the three schools worried that all colleges could eventually be banned from doing so.

“It reaffirms what Bates has been doing for 150 years,” said Hiss.

At Bowdoin College in Brunswick, President Barry Mills said he was “gratified” and “delighted” by the court ruling. Minority students made up about 17 percent of the school’s student body this year.

Bowdoin needed that diversity, Mills said, and officials needed a way to ensure it.

“Now we will be able to stay the course,” he said.

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