Affirmative Action in College Admissions and the US Supreme Court

In the Grutter case almost ten years ago, a divided US Supreme Court rejected racial quotas in college admissions. But it said race could be one factor in the effort to diversify student bodies and make up for the history of racial discrimination. It was a divided decision, and the court said it would take up the issue again. Today, in the case of Abigail Fisher, a white student rejected by the University of Texas, it made good on its promise. If not affirmative action based on race, then what? What about economic class? Or should academic merit be the only standard for deciding who gets in, especially to more selective institutions? We hear arguments with far-reaching implications about guaranteeing equal opportunity in an increasingly diverse society.