Affirmative Action’s Strict Scrutiny Revisited: Creating Meaningful Compelling Interests

By David Chau — The current national fabric of the United States is a colorful one. However, to reach that level of inclusivity, it took mass grievances demanding change and slow government acquiescence, creating a more equal, equitable representation in government to “form a more perfect union.” Some of these calls for reform moved their way up the judicial branch. And, 45 years ago, in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, the Supreme Court attempted to answer the legal questions regarding race-conscious admissions policies in higher education. But the Court has inadequately decided Bakke, resulting in the presumptive downfall of affirmative action that we see when the Roberts Court announces its decisions in two cases it heard this term: SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC.