REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA v. BAKKE: On this day in 1978, aspiring physician Allan Bakke won his case in the Supreme Court and hence his right to attend UC Davis Medical School. Yet those who believed Bakke’s victory would spell the end of race-based admissions policies were disappointed. Four justices came down hard against preferential treatment; a different four were happy to tolerate such treatment. Justice Lewis Powell, a Nixon appointee, attempted to come down somewhere in between. Powell’s swing opinion worked for Bakke, but colleges and universities were able to drive a truck through the narrow “diversity” exception Powell thought he was drawing.

Ever since then, “diversity” (which had barely been argued as a justification for race-based admissions by the Regents) has been the watchword on campus.

The consequences of the Bakke decision have not at all been what Powell was hoping for.