DAVIS, Calif. -- Allan Bakke, who won a landmark Supreme Court 'reverse discrimination' case, has graduated from the University of California medical school he fought for 10 years to enter, but he tried to make sure no one noticed.
Bakke, ordered admitted to the school four years ago under the high court's ruling, avoided reporters and slipped out the back door Friday following graduation ceremonies.
The shy Bakke slid into the processional line at the last minute to avoid many of the same cameras that recorded his arrival in 1978 on the usually quiet campus, 15 miles west of Sacramento.
Throughout his nearly 10-year battle to win admission to the school, Bakke sought to avoid the media spotlight. He steadfastly refused to comment on the case and discuss his personal life.
In a reference to Bakke, student commencement speaker Steven Edelman noted, 'We stood together against the news media in the midst of political repercussions about minority admissions, even though our views vary widely on that issue.'
The balding Bakke smiled often during the ceremonies. As he picked up his diploma, he was flanked on the stage by his wife, Judy, and three children.
Denied admission in 1973 and 1974, the Vietnam War veteran and former engineer took the university to court, contending that a medical school policy to help less qualified minority applicants discriminated against him simply because he was white.
The Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision on June 28, 1978 that the program at Davis was unjustifiably biased toward minority applicants. However, it said for the first time that affirmative action aimed at helping minorities is constitutionally permissible.
Bakke, 42, has accepted a year-long residency in anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., world renowned for developments in surgery.
