VOA慢速英語:US Supreme Court Avoids Ruling on Affirmative Action Case
By VOA
03 July, 2013
From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.
Reaction appears mixed to a recent United States Supreme Court decision on affirmative action in university admissions. Affirmative action in admissions means that schools give special consideration to some racial or ethnic minorities. The goal is to create a more diverse campus, and to give more opportunities to groups that are under-represented in higher education.
The Supreme Court ruled that race can be one of many factors considered when a student applies to a college or university. The court said education benefits from having diverse student populations.
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| People line up in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Jun. 24, 2013, before it opened for its last scheduled session. |
Some legal experts expressed surprise at the decision. They thought the justices would strike down a 2003 Supreme Court ruling. That ruling let universities use race in admissions decisions, but also said race needs to be just one factor among others.
In the new decision, the justices did not deal with the question of affirmative action itself, as many observers had expected. The court did not decide whether the idea violates the right of equal protection under the law, as guaranteed by the constitution. Instead, the justices sent the case back to a lower court for further consideration.
A white woman who had been denied admission to the University of Texas at Austin brought the legal case. Abigail Fisher argued that it was wrong to reject her, when minority students with similar grades and test scores were accepted because of affirmative action.
Wade Henderson is president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. He said the new decision reconfirms that it is an America's interest to increase opportunities for everyone.
Justice Clarence Thomas, the only African-American on the Supreme Court, voted with the majority but wrote a separate opinion. His opinion strongly attacked affirmative action in college admissions as violating the constitution. He also said that the diversity by itself does not have any educational benefit.
Ada Meloy is general counsel for the non-profit American Council on Education.
"...that the colleges and universities should have the right to decide upon who will be admitted to the institution. And those that feel they need to consider race or ethnicity and make that decision should be able to do so, in line with the law that has been proclaimed by the Supreme Court since the 1970's."
She said it was not clear how many of the 4,000 or so higher learning institutions in the United States use those criteria in deciding which student to accept. Ms. Meloy said many of the schools do not generally give special consideration to their applicants' race or ethnicity.
And that's the Education Report from VOA Learning English. I'm Karen Leggett.
[page]參考譯文[/page]
From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.
這里是美國之音慢速英語教育報道。
Reaction appears mixed to a recent United States Supreme Court decision on affirmative action in university admissions. Affirmative action in admissions means that schools give special consideration to some racial or ethnic minorities. The goal is to create a more diverse campus, and to give more opportunities to groups that are under-represented in higher education.
美國公眾對最高法院最近就高校招生平權法案的裁決反應不一。招生平權法案是指學校特別考慮一些少數(shù)族裔，其目標是為了創(chuàng)造一個多樣化的校園，并給予在高等教育中代表性不夠的群體更多的機會。
The Supreme Court ruled that race can be one of many factors considered when a student applies to a college or university. The court said education benefits from having diverse student populations.
美國最高法院裁定，學生在申請院校時，族裔可以作為眾多考慮因素之一。法院表示，美國教育從學生多樣化中受益。
Some legal experts expressed surprise at the decision. They thought the justices would strike down a 2003 Supreme Court ruling. That ruling let universities use race in admissions decisions, but also said race needs to be just one factor among others.
一些法律專家對該裁決表示驚訝。他們曾認為法官可能會推翻2003年最高法院的一起裁決。該裁決允許大學在招生決策中用族裔作為參考，但也表示族裔只能作為參考因素之一。
In the new decision, the justices did not deal with the question of affirmative action itself, as many observers had expected. The court did not decide whether the idea violates the right of equal protection under the law, as guaranteed by the constitution. Instead, the justices sent the case back to a lower court for further consideration.
在這起新裁決中，法官并未像眾多觀察人士預期那樣處理平權法案自身的問題。法院并未裁決它是否違反根據(jù)憲法人人平等的權利。與之相反，法官將案件發(fā)回下級法院進一步審理。
A white woman who had been denied admission to the University of Texas at Austin brought the legal case. Abigail Fisher argued that it was wrong to reject her, when minority students with similar grades and test scores were accepted because of affirmative action.
被德克薩斯大學奧斯汀分校拒絕錄取的白人女子阿比蓋爾·費舍爾(Abigail Fisher)發(fā)起了這一法律案件。她認為當成績差不多的少數(shù)族裔學生因為平權法案被錄取時，拒絕錄取她是不對的。
Wade Henderson is president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. He said the new decision reconfirms that it is an America's interest to increase opportunities for everyone.
韋德·亨德森(Wade Henderson)是民權和人權領導會議主席。他說，這起新裁決再次確認，增加每個人的機會符合美國利益。
Justice Clarence Thomas, the only African-American on the Supreme Court, voted with the majority but wrote a separate opinion. His opinion strongly attacked affirmative action in college admissions as violating the constitution. He also said that the diversity by itself does not have any educational benefit.
法官拉倫斯·托馬斯(Clarence Thomas)是最高法院唯一的非洲裔美國人。他投票時遵從了多數(shù)人的意見，但寫出了他的不同觀點。他的觀點強烈抨擊高校招生平權法案違反了美國憲法。他還表示，多樣性本身對教育沒有任何好處。
Ada Meloy is general counsel for the non-profit American Council on Education.
阿達·梅洛伊(Ada Meloy)是非營利性的美國教育委員會的總法律顧問。
"...that the colleges and universities should have the right to decide upon who will be admitted to the institution. And those that feel they need to consider race or ethnicity and make that decision should be able to do so, in line with the law that has been proclaimed by the Supreme Court since the 1970s."
她說，“各高校應該有權決定錄取誰。有些高校認為應該考慮族裔并如此決定，他們應該可以這樣做，這符合19世紀70年代以來最高法院公布的法律。”
She said it was not clear how many of the 4,000 or so higher learning institutions in the United States use those criteria in deciding which student to accept. Ms. Meloy said many of the schools do not generally give special consideration to their applicants' race or ethnicity.
她表示，尚不確定美國4000所左右的高等院校有多少在使用這些標準來決定錄取那些學生。梅洛伊女士表示，許多學校一般不會特別考慮申請人的族裔。
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