Bakke Case

      In 1973 and 1974 a white male, Bakke, applied to medical school at University of California at Davis. He was turned away because of his age, which was 35 at the time; however, his accomplishments were exemplary. He had a GPA of 3.51 and he was also a National Merit's Scholar. He sued under the 14th amendment, specifically the use of affirmative action under the equal protection clause. Black males were admitted who did not have as high test scores as Bakke. He believes he was discriminated against because of his age, which is not fair. The school claims to want, "the best and the brightest," but he was turned away. The minimum GPA requirement was only a 2.5. He was a veteran who wanted to pursue a degree in higher education, which he was extremely qualified for. The university claims that they are trying to provide a compelling interest of diversity among its students; however, does the program achieve this goal? I believe not because while the university may be helping achieve diversity with blacks, they are discriminating against other parties. Yes, Bakke may be of an older age, but he was fighting for our country while other applicants may have had the opportunity to receive their education at an early age. I feel that this is unfair because here is a man who fought for our country, he is extremely qualified to be a medical student at this university, and he is denied just because he may be a little bit older than the rest of the students. He beat out 16 other minorities, mostly African American,  in terms of qualifications, grades, and test scores. There is a discrepancy making society more "racially acceptable," by accepting more black doctors than that of picking the doctors that are going to be the best qualified for the field.