Page 56 - Šolsko polje, XXVIII, 2017, no. 3-4: Education and the American Dream, ed. Mitja Sardoč
P. 56
šolsko polje, letnik xxviii, številka 3–4
schools include University of Washington, University of Florida, Univer-
sity of Georgia, and University of Nebraska. The University of Michigan
at Ann Arbor, another elite school, however, has done less well (Kahlen-
berg & Potter, 2010: p. 14). Nonetheless, the trend overall appears to be
one of greater and wider inclusion of racial minority students in schools
and states that have adopted some kind of a Percent Plan (Kahlenberg &
Potter, 2010).14
Following the Grutter decision, UT has reinstated a race-based af-
firmative action policy for admission of students into those seats that are
left over after the implementation of the Top Ten Percent Plan. There is a
complex set of reasons cited by the University of Texas for the reinstate-
ment of this policy – but a discussion of these reasons is beyond the scope
of this paper. What is, however, relevant for us is that this policy has been
challenged in Court and the Supreme Court in Fisher v. University of Tex-
as (2016) has – for the moment - narrowly upheld (in a 4-3 decision) the
use of a race-based affirmative action policy at the University of Texas.
But it is widely known that the Court is hesitant about race-based affirm-
ative action programs, as Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s comment about
affirmative action no longer being necessary 25 years from Grutter (cited
above) indicates.
The Way Forward
A college degree has become practically indispensable to achieving mid-
dle class success in the US. It is for this reason that Bernie Sanders, dur-
ing his 2016 presidential bid, called for making college education free in
the US (Resnikoff, 2015). One of the things he pointed out in his cam-
paign rhetoric was that the reasoning behind the country moving toward
universal access to high school education was that a high school educa-
tion had become indispensable to the achievement of middle class suc-
cess. These days the trend has changed far enough that a college degree has
become all but essential for the attainment of a middle class life. It thus
makes sense to make college degrees universally accessible (Sanders, 2015).
Ostensibly in line with this kind of reasoning, Andrew Cuomo, Gover-
nor of New York, has pushed for the institution of the Excelsior program
in New York State.15
14 For a detailed description of the “mechanics,” accomplishments, and variations in the Tex-
as, Florida, California Percent Plans, see Horn, C.L. & Flores, S.M. (2003), especially pp.
20–24.
15 New York State. “Tuition-Free Degree Program: The Excelsior Scholarship,” 2017, https://
www.ny.gov/programs/tuition-free-degree-program-excelsior-scholarship.
54
schools include University of Washington, University of Florida, Univer-
sity of Georgia, and University of Nebraska. The University of Michigan
at Ann Arbor, another elite school, however, has done less well (Kahlen-
berg & Potter, 2010: p. 14). Nonetheless, the trend overall appears to be
one of greater and wider inclusion of racial minority students in schools
and states that have adopted some kind of a Percent Plan (Kahlenberg &
Potter, 2010).14
Following the Grutter decision, UT has reinstated a race-based af-
firmative action policy for admission of students into those seats that are
left over after the implementation of the Top Ten Percent Plan. There is a
complex set of reasons cited by the University of Texas for the reinstate-
ment of this policy – but a discussion of these reasons is beyond the scope
of this paper. What is, however, relevant for us is that this policy has been
challenged in Court and the Supreme Court in Fisher v. University of Tex-
as (2016) has – for the moment - narrowly upheld (in a 4-3 decision) the
use of a race-based affirmative action policy at the University of Texas.
But it is widely known that the Court is hesitant about race-based affirm-
ative action programs, as Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s comment about
affirmative action no longer being necessary 25 years from Grutter (cited
above) indicates.
The Way Forward
A college degree has become practically indispensable to achieving mid-
dle class success in the US. It is for this reason that Bernie Sanders, dur-
ing his 2016 presidential bid, called for making college education free in
the US (Resnikoff, 2015). One of the things he pointed out in his cam-
paign rhetoric was that the reasoning behind the country moving toward
universal access to high school education was that a high school educa-
tion had become indispensable to the achievement of middle class suc-
cess. These days the trend has changed far enough that a college degree has
become all but essential for the attainment of a middle class life. It thus
makes sense to make college degrees universally accessible (Sanders, 2015).
Ostensibly in line with this kind of reasoning, Andrew Cuomo, Gover-
nor of New York, has pushed for the institution of the Excelsior program
in New York State.15
14 For a detailed description of the “mechanics,” accomplishments, and variations in the Tex-
as, Florida, California Percent Plans, see Horn, C.L. & Flores, S.M. (2003), especially pp.
20–24.
15 New York State. “Tuition-Free Degree Program: The Excelsior Scholarship,” 2017, https://
www.ny.gov/programs/tuition-free-degree-program-excelsior-scholarship.
54
