President Marcos greets mom Imelda...

of the University of California v. Bakke, after schools began using affirmative action in response to the Civil Rights era to correct the effects of racial segregation.

The swing vote, Justice Lewis Powell, ruled that schools could not use affirmative action to rectify past racial discrimination and struck down the university’s practice of setting aside a certain number of spots for minorities.

Nevertheless, Powell found that increasing campus diversity was a “compelling interest” because students of all races – not just minorities – would receive a better education if exposed to different viewpoints. Powell ruled that schools could weigh race in admissions as long as it remained only one factor among many.

In 2003, the court struck down the University of Michigan’s use of a system that awarded “points” to minority applicants as going too far, but affirmed Bakke’s central finding that schools could use race as one of several admission factors.

The court in 2016 again upheld race-conscious admissions in a challenge backed by Blum to University of Texas policies. But the court has moved sharply to the right since then, with six conservative justices now and only three liberals.

What will colleges do in response?

The decision on Thursday will force elite colleges and universities to revamp their policies and search for new ways to ensure diversity in their student populations.

Many schools have said other measures would not be as effective, resulting in fewer minority students on campuses.

In briefs filed with the Supreme Court, the University of California and the University of Michigan – top public college systems from states that have outlawed race-conscious admissions – said they have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on alternative programs intended to improve diversity, but that those efforts have fallen far short of goals.

(Inquirer.net) n

PAGE 1 senator said her mother would have a “private” celebration for her 94th birthday. She said there might be an asalto or a birthday surprise for Imelda at Malacañang on Saturday night.

This was the second consecutive year the former first lady held a birthday party at the Palace.

Malacañang is the official residence of the president of the Philippines.

Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco and veteran singer Dulce also shared photos of the event in their respective social media pages.

In a video posted on Facebook, Dulce was seen serenading the former first lady and her guests with a Celeste Legaspi song, “Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal.”

In May, Senator Marcos said the former first lady underwent an angioplasty. Rumors about the death of the Marcos matriarch circulated in March but were quickly debunked by the senator and the former first lady’s niece Eliza Romualdez-Valtos.

Imelda is out on bail after being convicted by the Sandiganbayan of seven counts of graft. n