While arguing its position in the Fisher case, the University of Texas claimed that racial preferences in admissions were a really good thing. The school supposedly benefited enormously from diversity — which is to say, having enough students whose ancestry put them into an “underrepresented” category. While making that argument the school was at the same time admitting lots of students whose academic abilities were relatively weak, but who also had the right kind of ancestry: they came from politically influential Texas families. The facts about that were kept dark until an independent investigation turned over the rock. The Wall Street Journal has an editorial about this today.

So UT admits quite a few students so it won’t run afoul of the zealots for “diversity” and also quite a few so it can butter up important folks in the state.

No matter how Fisher eventually turns out, I hope that a great many Texans decide that this is a poor way for a university to run and insist that admissions be made only on a student’s academic capability and interest.