Civil and Human Rights Coalition Responds to Oral Argument in Fisher v. University of Texas

WASHINGTON – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement in response to today’s oral argument in the Supreme Court case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin:

“As we’ve seen from tragic events around the country, it’s never been more important for people of different backgrounds to interact and better understand each other. Colleges and universities should serve as safe, diverse spaces that help all students appreciate the power in our nation’s diversity.

The University of Texas at Austin’s carefully crafted admissions policy has already been upheld multiple times, and is designed to create the diverse learning environments that are critical to both the educational success of our students and to our nation’s economic prosperity.

We are heartened by today’s affirmation of the importance of measures that support diversity in training our nation’s next generation of leaders and combatting racial isolation in educational environments. Today’s oral argument reinforced what has been already been held many times—that U.T. Austin’s holistic admissions policy is constitutional.  

The court knows that our nation’s strength lies in expanding opportunity for everyone. We are confident that, ultimately, the Court will adhere to its own precedent and reaffirm that it is constitutional for universities to consider race as one of numerous factors they may use in making individualized admissions decisions.”

Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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