Board of Regents v. Bakke

A white man named Allan Bakke, applied twice to the University of California Medical School at Davis. He was rejected both times, primarily because he was white. Bakke's GPA and standardized test scores exceeded the minority students admitted in the two years Bakke's applications were rejected. Bakke eventually reached the Supreme Court, claiming his14th amendment rights, under the equal protection law, were violated because he was excluded on the basis of race. In the past, colleges in the United States were typically all white. However, with the legalizing of the integration of schools, colleges were eager to help all people and create diversity. Now with affirmative action, the government would use its power to create this integration.

The University of California argued that they were not violating his rights due to the fact that a quota would create a balance between whites and blacks. With "separate but equal", black schools were underfunded, and many minorities weren't receiving a good enough education because of whites. Therefore, the university wanted to increase African American numbers so that more minorities could get a good education.

Bakke argued that under the 14th amendment, no state shall abridge the immunities of people and no state is allowed to provide privileges to certain races. Rather, admission to the university should be based on academics. Bakke had a GPA of 3.5, qualified for medical school, was in the ROTC and marine core, and had above average standardized test scores. He also found that some minorities admitted had below a 2.5 GPA, below his own. As well, he believed he was being discriminated against and called it "reversed discrimination". He also stated under the equal protection clause that strict racial quotas were unconstitutional and under the civil rights act of 1964, no advantage would be granted to be any race or ethnicity.

Even though both sides had strong compelling arguments, the court had made a decision. One agreement was that having a quota system violates the 14th amendment. However, it is okay for a college or university to consider race as one factor among many.