system
Context: (CNN) -- The Supreme Court has just agreed to take on the case of Fisher v. University of Texas. Abigail Fisher, a white woman, argues that she has been a victim of the university's race-conscious admission policies; the university contends that its drive for racial and ethnic diversity is educationally enriching -- a benefit to all students. 

Will the ugly discourse that generally characterizes debate over racially preferential policies disappear with the wave of a magic Supreme Court wand? It seems unlikely. The issue is a cat with many more than nine lives. It arrived in the early 1970s and, despite many attacks, some of which have taken the form of amendments to state constitutions, it has survived in pretty fine fettle. 

The court will have only eight justices to hear the arguments. Elena Kagan, having been involved in the case as solicitor general in the Obama administration, has bowed out of participation. Her absence, however, leaves five justices likely to express at least some degree of skepticism about the racial preferences given to non-Asian minorities in the admissions process. 

Has the University of Texas been enriched by academic diversity? Maybe. But equally likely is the possibility that racial double standards reinforce stereotypes about smart whites and even smarter Asians. There are certainly wide gaps in the average SAT scores between blacks and Hispanics, on the one hand, and whites and Asians, on the other hand. 

Among freshmen entering the University of Texas in 2009 who did not fall into the top 10% of their high school class (automatic admission at the university), Asians scored at the 93rd percentile of 2009 SAT takers nationwide, whites at the 89th percentile, Hispanics at the 80th percentile and blacks at the 52nd percentile. Startling? No. This picture has been well known for a long time. Heartbreaking, yes, because the numbers mean the underperforming minority students are being woefully ill served by the K-12 school system. Moreover, arriving at institutions of higher education with an academic disadvantage, they do not catch up, as it has become clear. 
human
What does being in the top 10% of your high school class get you?
gpt
automatic admission
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To where?
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at the university
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Which one?
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University of Texas
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Where do whites rank on the SAT?
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89th percentile
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Asians?
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93rd percentile
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Hispanics
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80th percentile
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Blacks?
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52nd percentile
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What system is to blame for this difference?
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K-12 school system.
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Who is taking their case to The Supreme Court?
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Abigail Fisher
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Who is she suing?
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University of Texas
human
What does she feel made her a victim?
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race-conscious admission policies
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What race is she?
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white
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How does the university feel about their policy?
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is educationally enriching
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How many justices will participate in this case?
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eight
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Who's they ninth judge?
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Elena Kagan
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What happened to her?
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bowed out
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Was she previously involved in this case?
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yes
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During what?
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during Obama administration
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What was her job?
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solicitor general
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Without her how many will doubt the policy?
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five