The Bakke Decision refers to a landmark Supreme Court case that dealt with affirmative action in college admissions. The correct spelling of "Bakke" is pronounced as "bah-kee" with the first syllable sounding like "ba" in "bat" and the second syllable sounding like "key". Interestingly, the spelling and pronunciation of this Norwegian surname has been slightly altered over the years due to immigration and anglicization. Regardless of the spelling, the ruling in the Bakke Decision remains significant in shaping higher education policies in the United States.
The Bakke Decision refers to a landmark ruling made by the United States Supreme Court on June 28, 1978, in the case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. The decision involved a challenge to affirmative action practices in college admissions and had significant implications for racial diversity in higher education.
In the Bakke Decision, the Supreme Court held that while college admissions programs may consider an applicant's race as one factor among many, the use of racial quotas or a points system based solely on race as an admission criteria was unconstitutional. The Court determined that such practices violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits racial discrimination.
The decision, named after plaintiff Allan Bakke, a white applicant who was denied admission to the University of California, Davis, Medical School, had a profound impact on affirmative action policies. It established that diversity in the student body is a compelling interest for universities, justifying race-conscious admissions practices to some extent. However, it also set limits on the extent to which race could be used as a determining factor, emphasizing that individual evaluation and consideration of each applicant's merits must remain paramount.
The Bakke Decision continues to be influential in shaping affirmative action policies and has sparked ongoing legal debates about the constitutionality and implementation of race-conscious admissions practices in higher education.
The word "Bakke" in "Bakke Decision" refers to the surname of Allan Bakke, a white medical student who sued the University of California, Davis, for their affirmative action program in 1978. The term "Bakke Decision" specifically pertains to a landmark Supreme Court ruling on the case of Bakke v. Regents of the University of California, which is considered a significant legal decision regarding affirmative action in the United States. Therefore, the etymology of the word "Bakke Decision" is directly related to the case and the individual involved.