Just as UNC and Harvard are in the midst of a lawsuit over racial preference in admissions, the landmark Fisher v. University of Texas case may be reopened in the Supreme Court. A lower court’s ruling, George Leef writes at the Pope Center, did not apply “strict scrutiny” as it should have for a case dealing with race in public policy, but simply accepted the university’s claim that racial preferences are necessary. While we don’t yet know whether the SCOTUS will hear the appeal, Leef tells us, an unlikely alliance has formed in support of the high court doing so.

The usual right-leaning critics of affirmative action, such as the Center for Equal Opportunity, want the case reopened. This comes as no surprise. What is interesting, however, is that progressives like Richard Kahlenberg of the Century Foundation also want the case reopened. Leef writes:

Because the great majority of “minority” students who receive preferences are from successful families, Kahlenberg doesn’t see how they really contribute much “diversity.” I don’t either. Aside from skin color, they’re hardly any different in their thinking and interests from the great mass of non-minority students.

Kahlenberg supports socioeconomic preferences instead of racial preferences. That’s a little better, but why not just cease the social engineering? As Leef points out, “mismatching” would remain a problem even if the preferred students were white.