Grutter v. Bollinger
Prior to the landmark Supreme Court decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, which would ultimately hold that race could be used as a factor in admissions, the University of Scranton and 38 other private institutions filed amicus briefs petitioning the Supreme Court to allow for preferential admission to private schools. This is detailed in The Aquinas article “University petitions Supreme Court to allow private schools to admit preferentially” by the then Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper, Christopher R. Dougherty.
After describing the filing of the amicus brief, Dougherty goes on to detail some of the reactions to the university’s support of affirmative action. These reactions from such diverse campus figures as the then University of Scranton President Joseph M. McShane, S.J., the director of media and public relations, the director of student activities, and an undergraduate student are all overwhelmingly positive. The student explicitly commends the University of Scranton for supporting affirmative action, while noting that the university should take more active steps towards accomplishing diversity, including by increasing minority representation in the administration and faculty and by creating more culturally aware classes. These positive reactions to the University of Scranton’s support of affirmative action are demonstrative of a positive view of affirmative action itself.