Supreme Court wrestles with affirmative action, college admissions

Fisher v. University of Texas, a case currently before the Supreme Court, concerns the affirmative action admissions policy at the University of Texas. But the case could have far-reaching implications nationwide.

What's the value of affirmative action and how can admissions policies be reformed?

The Atlantic recently wrote about the Supreme Court case and summed up some of the problems surrounding affirmative action in college admissions:

Affirmative action in university admissions started in the late 1960s as a noble effort to jump-start racial integration and foster equal opportunity. But somewhere along the decades, it has lost its way...

The single biggest problem in this system -- a problem documented by a vast and growing array of research -- is the tendency of large preferences to boomerang and harm their intended beneficiaries. Large preferences often place students in environments where they can neither learn nor compete effectively -- even though these same students would thrive had they gone to less competitive but still quite good schools.

Richard Sander, law professor at University of California-Los Angeles and co-author of "Mismatch: How Affirmative Action Hurts Students It's Intended to Help, and Why Universities Won't Admit It," will join The Daily Circuit Thursday to discuss the case and the bigger issues surrounding affirmative action. Emily Bazelon, senior law research scholar at Yale Law School, will also join the discussion.

VIDEO: Bazelon on affirmative action Supreme Court case

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