Abigail Fisher and Their Ilk Need a Lesson in Humility

I have made no secret over the years how I feel about entitled, self-important teens and "adults." The Supreme Court's decision in Fisher v. University of Texas has just brought all those old feelings to the surface.

What I think about affirmative action is irrelevant to my feelings about Fisher.  The bottom line is that the SCOTUS never should have taken this case in the first place. In fact, no appellate court should have taken this case. Why? Because, quite simply, Abigail Fisher had no injury.

One of the first things we learn about standing in law school is that there must have been some sort of injury. Abigail Fisher could only prove injury if she could have proved that but for the policies she claimed prevented her admission into UT, she would have been admitted into the school. Here's the problem, though: she wouldn't have been.

In 2008, the year Abigail Fisher applied to UT, 81% of the school's enrollment came from the State of Texas program where students in the top 10% of their classes are automatically admitted to the Texas university of their choices. Abigail Fisher was not in the top 10% of her class. Her GPA and SAT scores were on the low end of UT's acceptance pool that year (including those of the vast majority of the enrollees, who were automatically accepted). That left Abigail Fisher to rest on her personal statement and "extras."

Most of the students admitted to UT that year had better numbers than Abigail Fisher. Among those with lower numbers, many of them were white. Basically, this girl did not have a dog in the hunt. But she was pissy about not getting into her first-choice school, and she literally made a federal case about it. Literally. 

Why did Abigail Fisher think one of those 19% spots belonged to her? Why, because her parents (like 20% of Texan parents, it seems) went to UT. Basically, her argument seems to be that legacy affirmative action should outweigh minority and class affirmative action. This girl is the very definition of "entitled."

Justices Sotomayor and Ginsburg were smart enough to raise the issue that the controversy was moot—homegirl had already graduated college, and, ya know, UT, had made it clear that she wasn't getting accepted. Period. [Kagan recused herself].

I can't help but think that if someone had told her a long time ago, "Sorry, sweetie, but the rest of the world just doesn't find you all that special," all this shit could have been avoided. 
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