While many students were graduating and planning their summer vacation, a monumental case was decided.   On May 14, 2002, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to uphold the University of Michigan Law School’s affirmative action polices in Grutter v. Bollinger.

While many students were graduating and planning their summer would be no more affirmative action for any graduate and professional schools in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.   That decision would definitely spark a challenge to affirmative action on the undergraduate level in Tennessee and eliminate the need to have any other minority students of campus except athletes.

The plaintiff in this case, Barbara Grutter, sued the University of Michigan Law School when she was denied admission citing reverse discrimination.   Grutter maintained that UM’s affirmative action policy contained a "hidden quota" and a "double standard" that was unconstitutional.   The defense had two parties working to uphold affirmative action, the original defendants, University of Michigan Law School, and a group of student interveners that consisted of 41 named students and several pro-affirmative action groups, such as Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN).   The University argued that their policy was written precisely within the guidelines of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, a case that decided that an affirmative action policy must have a compelling interest and must not be a quota.   The student interveners argued that diversity was a compelling interest.

Right now students and other pro-affirmative action groups can breathe a sigh of relief because affirmative action was upheld, however this case is far from over.   The antiaffirmative action plaintiff in this case still has a chance to appeal this case to the Supreme Court of the United States.   If the Supreme Court accepts this case, our struggle starts all over again.   I ask that you do not rely on my article as the your only source of information.   Please review other sources such as bamn.com and research the cases I have listed in this article.

You may be asking yourself, "what does this have to do with me, I live in Tennessee?"   Simple, Tennessee sits in the 6th circuit and must adhere to the decisions set forth at the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, if University of Michigan Law School lost its case there