从巴基案到密歇根大学案——美国高校录取中种族优惠政策的演变

Affirmative Action and Racial Preferences of Higher Education in the United States

美国政府为解决长期存在的种族教育不公问题,在20世纪60年代推出了"肯定性行动",要求高校在招生时向弱势群体倾斜,从而扩大了黑人等少数族群进入高等院校机会。但"肯定性行动"随后却不断遭到白人的质疑和起诉,通过美国最高法院对1978年巴基案和2003年密歇根大学案的裁决,种族优惠招生政策在美国发生了变化,从最初的补偿理论过渡到多元化理论。

Affirmative Action in American higher educational settings was born out of the fact that discrimination in the United States was rampant, and African-Americans and other ethnic groups were not represented fairly in higher education and the free market economy well into 1960s. Affirmative Action is an attempt to compensate ethnic groups and to promote equal opportunity. There has been considerable progress in the United States since Affirmative Action was enforced in the 1960s and 1970s. However, Affirmative Action was opposed by white students who were denied by universities. These students charged that they were the victims of ＂reverse discrimination＂ and brought the issue once again to the Supreme Court. The decisions of the Super Court defined that the rationale for Affirmative Action included not only compensation for the past and continuing discrimination, but also consideration of the educational value of diversity. They allowed race to be a consideration in admissions policy, but held that quotas were illegal. And admission program was ＂narrowly tailored＂ to increase ethnic diversity or other forms of diversity.