By Stephen Collins '74

Colby and 27 other private, highly selective residential colleges submitted an amicus curiae brief to the United States Supreme Court in February maintaining that the colleges have a compelling educational interest in enrolling diverse classes and asking the court not to prohibit consideration of race and ethnic background as considerations in admissions decisions.

Submission of the friend-of-the-court brief from the colleges was spearheaded by presidents Tom Gerety of Amherst, William Adams of Colby and Barry Mills of Bowdoin. The court was set to hear two cases in April testing the use of affirmative action in admissions at the University of Michigan, and the amicus brief filed by the colleges was one of more than 60 amicus briefs supporting the use of race as an admissions criterion.

"Seldom in the court's history have so many amicus curiae, or 'friend of the court,' briefs been filed on behalf of one side in a dispute," The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. The briefs were signed by more than 300 organizations, including colleges, higher-education associations, civil-rights groups, student groups, labor unions, professional organizations, Fortune 500 companies, top-ranking military leaders, state attorneys general and members of Congress.

Amicus curiae refers to a party uninvolved in particular litigation that wishes to advise the court on a matter of law. It was uncertain what the impact of such a flood of advice would be, but when the court ruled on the landmark affirmative action case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, in 1978, justices cited an amicus brief filed by four elite private universities. That decision made racial quotas illegal but permitted use of race as a factor in admissions.

The University of Michigan's president, Mary Sue Coleman, said in a February speech that this batch of briefs constituted "an unprecedented flood that speaks volumes about the importance and far-reaching impact of this upcoming decision.

"This case is not about college-admissions policies alone. Nor is it simply about important matters of constitutional law. It touches every major sector of our country, and the outcome will influence the direction of America's public policy," Coleman said.