The United States Supreme Court hears oral arguments on Dec. 8 in Abigail Fisher v. University of Texas. The plaintiff charges that she was unfairly denied admission in 2008. Three-quarters of University of Texas admissions are guaranteed to Texas high school students who graduated in the top 10 percent of their classes. The remaining students are admitted under a policy that allows the consideration of race. Fisher did not graduate in the top 10 percent of her high school class, but contends that minority students were admitted with lower grades than hers.

Sherrilyn Ifill, JD

Sherrilyn Ifill, JD, is a professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, and director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Shown at left, she explains her views in support of the University of Texas' admissions policies in an opinion piece in The Washington Post titled, 'To fight racial isolation on campus, start with admissions.'