Affirmative Action: The Controversy - Research Paper Example

In the case of Allen Bakke against University of California, despite meeting all the qualifications, Bakke was denied entry by the university based on the fact that his age was ripe at 32. Later on Bakke was informed that his failed admission was in regards to his skin colour. Bakke argued that the schools policy was a reversed discrimination as the University had assigned 16% of chances to minority and this reduced the chances of the majority (Rankin 2001). The case escalated to the United States Supreme Court, where the final verdict was made, Justice Powell concluded that in as much as race was a means of selection to such institutions, the method of quotas was not according to the constitution.

However the court declined to reinstate Bakke’s admission (Rankin 2001).The basis of the conclusion was upon several violations; the Supreme Court stated that the schools program had violated the constitutionTitle VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq., and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Its (the Supreme Court) refusal to admit the respondent to the University was based upon the fact that he had failed to prove that his admission failure was base upon violation of the constitution (Findlaw, 2014).

Affirmative action has been the cause of improved equality in schools andworkplaces; it has open doors for minority and women to gain access to opportunities in workplaces and prestigious institutions in America (Michael, 2008).