Fisher v. University of Texas: Keeping the “strict” in “strict Scrutiny” Author:

Along the way, the Court left intact the two central holdings of Gratz and Grutter: (a) that obtaining the educational benefits of student body diversity is a compelling state interest that can justify the use of race in university admissions and (b) that a university may consider the race of its applicants only in a manner narrowly tailored to achieve that compelling interest. But the Court also placed a conspicuous emphasis on the second of these holdings, stressing the highly demanding nature of the narrow tailoring inquiry and making clear that colleges and universities have their work cut out for them in defending the means by which they seek to achieve a diverse student body if they consider race in the process.