At the Supreme Court yesterday, justices once again considered Fisher v. University of Texas, in which plaintiff Abigail Fisher argued that she had been denied a spot at the university because of its affirmative-action policy. Fisher’s case has been roundly criticized for playing a bit fast and loose with UT minority admissions statistics (in reality, many white students with lower grades than Fisher’s were admitted, many minorities with higher grades were excluded), but nonetheless, the court is hearing her out.
As if Fisher hadn’t fomented enough animosity against her, it was compounded yesterday by Justice Antonin Scalia’s remarks that “most of the black scientists in this country don’t come from schools like the University of Texas. They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they’re — that they’re being pushed ahead in — in classes that are too — too fast for them.”
And so current and former black students — who this year make up just 4 percent of UT’s freshman population — struck back on social media, posting photos of themselves in cap and gown as a sort of middle finger, with the message #StayMadAbby.
