Supreme Court to hear UT case

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AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court is to hear a case on affirmative action at the University of Texas next month.

In October, the U.S. Supreme Court is to hear argument in Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin, a case that challenges the university's right to consider race and ethnicity when deciding whom to admit, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Abigail Fisher, a white woman from Sugar Land, Texas, alleges that she wasn't admitted to the university based on the color of her skin because the university adheres to Texas' "top 10 percent" law, which guarantees admission to state colleges for students who graduate at the top of their class.

Because many of the state's high schools have majority-minority student bodies, this guarantees a certain measure of diversity. Applicants not in the top 10 percent are selected based on other factors, one of which is race.

"If any state action should respect racial equality, it is university admission," Fisher said in her brief to the Supreme Court. "Selecting those who will benefit from the limited places available at universities has enormous consequences."

The case could have broad consequences colleges nationwide that could be barred from considering race in admissions, The Washington Post reported.