Scalia Media Dogpile

The Media Outrage Brigade is in high dudgeon in mischaracterizing recent Scalia remarks during questioning in the Fisher v Texas case before the Court.  What was essentially a Socratic Question referencing an amicus brief filed by UCLA law professor Richard Sander and his “mismatch theory” (which claims that students admitted to a school that they are not academically prepared for then they are being set up for failure), Scalia questions the U of T lawyer:

“There are those (Taylor/Sanders) who contend that it does not benefit African-Americans to get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a less — a slower-track school where they do well. One of the briefs (Taylor/Sanders) pointed out that most of the black scientists in this country don’t come from schools like the University of Texas.” Continuing Scalia asks “They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they’re being pushed ahead in classes that are too fast for them. I’m just not impressed by the fact that the University of Texas may have fewer. Maybe it ought to have fewer. And maybe some — you know, when you take more, the number of blacks, really competent blacks, admitted to lesser schools, turns out to be less.”

While there is no doubt that Scalia falls squarely within the anti-affirmative action camp, his attempts to tease out a deeper argument from one of the sides hardly qualifies him as a racist as the media dogpile is trying to portray him. Here’s a good article at The Atlantic that explains the theory well.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/10/the-painful-truth-about-affirmative-action/263122/