SCHOOL OF LAW

UT School of Law Reaction

"We want to insure that opportunities at the School of Law remain open to all citizens of the State."

William C. Powers
Dean of the University of Texas School of Law

"Under the Hopwood decision, the Law School is forbidden to consider race even as a tiebreaker or in combination with the many other factors already considered, such as grades, test scores, work experience, military service, or past disadvantage. If we can consider race even a little bit in close cases, we can make a huge percentage improvement in the number of minority students in the law school. And because we get so few minority applicants, preferring the strong minority students who do apply has little effect on any other applicant's chance of admission."

Douglas Laycock
Professor of Law
The University of Texas

"I agree that the consideration of race in admissions allows universities and graduate schools to assemble diverse, qualified student bodies reflective of the state that the schools serve. Thus, UT and other institutions of higher education really need the Supreme Court to review the Hopwood case and provide guidance on race conscious admission practices."

Marlen Whitley
3rd year law student
President, Thurgood Marshall Legal Society