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[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English,[00:03.14]this is the Education Report.[00:06.43]Reaction appears mixed to a recent[00:09.72]United States Supreme Court decision[00:12.37]on affirmative action in university admissions.[00:16.80]Affirmative action in admissions[00:19.34]means that schools give special consideration[00:22.63]to some racial or ethnic minorities.[00:26.47]The goal is to create a more diverse campus,[00:30.50]and to give more opportunities to groups[00:33.45]that are under-represented in higher education.[00:37.23]The Supreme Court ruled that race[00:39.92]can be one of many factors considered[00:43.60]when a student applies to a college or university.[00:47.40]The court said education[00:49.54]benefits from having diverse student populations.[00:53.04]Some legal experts expressed surprise at the decision.[00:58.41]They thought the justices would strike down[01:01.41]a 2003 Supreme Court ruling.[01:04.54]That ruling let universities use race in admissions decisions,[01:10.98]but also said race needs to be just one factor among others.[01:16.53]In the new decision,[01:18.27]the justices did not deal with[01:21.35]the question of affirmative action itself[01:24.25]as many observers had expected.[01:27.29]The court did not decide whether the idea[01:30.84]violates the right of equal protection under the law,[01:34.82]as guaranteed by the constitution.[01:38.25]Instead, the justices sent the case[01:42.30]back to a lower court for further consideration.[01:46.82]A white woman who had been denied admission[01:50.36]to the University of Texas at Austin brought the legal case.[01:55.24]Abigail Fisher argued that it was wrong to reject her,[01:59.78]when minority students with similar grades[02:03.28]and test scores were accepted because of affirmative action.[02:08.45]Wade Henderson is president of the Leadership Conference[02:13.24]on Civil and Human Rights.[02:15.43]He said the new decision reconfirms that it is an America's[02:21.16]interest to increase opportunities for everyone.[02:25.19]Justice Clarence Thomas,[02:27.73]the only African-American on the Supreme Court,[02:31.27]voted with the majority but wrote a separate opinion.[02:35.81]His opinion strongly attacked affirmative action[02:40.09]in college admissions as violating the constitution.[02:44.73]He also said that the diversity by itself[02:47.67]does not have any educational benefit.[02:51.25]Ada Meloy is general counsel for the non-profit American Council on Education.[02:58.68]"...that the colleges and universities should have the right[03:04.81]to decide upon who will be admitted to the institution.[03:09.79]And those that feel they need to consider race or ethnicity[03:15.32]and make that decision should be able to do so,[03:18.51]in line with the law that has been proclaimed[03:23.24]by the Supreme Court since the 1970's."[03:25.89]She said it is not clear how many of the 4,000 or so[03:30.32]higher learning institutions in the United States[03:33.95]use those criteria in deciding which student to accept.[03:39.33]Ms. Meloy said many of the schools do not generally[03:44.32]give special consideration to their applicants' race or ethnicity.[03:49.95]And that's the Education Report from VOA Learning English.[03:54.49]I'm Karen Leggett.