Lawsuit against UT could reshape affirmative action

“We have black people who rise above, yes, but they are a small part of the population overall,” Metoyer said. “You cannot wake up one day and just say that everyone starts fresh today and is equal.”

Despite gaining admittance into A&M through a race-neutral policy, Murry said she still faces many stereotypes at A&M.

“I was in the top 10 percent of my class. I worked very hard in school,” Murry said. “Freshman year, I had someone tell me the only reason I got in was because of a quota.”

The U.S. is the most racially residentially segregated country in the world, Moore said. The top 10 percent rule in Texas relies on this residential segregation history to create racial equity in admissions processes.

 “I’m ambivalent about the top 10 percent rule. It relies on a history of racism, residential segregation and [grade and high school] inequalities,” Moore said. “But, if we’re doing nothing else, then it is better than nothing,”

Moore added that legislators had varying motivations for passing the legislation, including closing wealth and resource gaps between races.

Craig said when hearing arguments from UT and the rejected student, Supreme Court justices will have to decide what value affirmative action has for government interests in diversity.

“At some point, we will be sufficiently diverse and not have to take factors like [race] into account anymore,” Craig said. “[But] the Court could say that this government interest has still not been met.”