VOA慢速英语:US Supreme Court Avoids Ruling on Affirmative Action Case

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.
最近，美国公众对最高法院就高校招生平权法案的裁决反应不一。招生平权法案意味着学校会特别考虑到一些少数族群。目的是为了创建一个更加多样化的校园，并给予在高等教育中代表性不够的群体更多的机会。

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.
最高法院裁定，学生在申请院校时，种族是众多考虑因素之一。法院表示，教育会从学生群体的多样化中获益。

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.
一些法律专家对该决定表示惊讶。他们认为法官可能会推翻2003年最高法院的裁决。这一裁决允许大学在招生决策中用种族作为参考，但也表示种族只是众多因素之一。

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.
在新的裁决中，法官并没有像许多观察家预期那样处理平权法案自身的问题。法院没有裁定它是否违反根据宪法人人平等的权利。相反，法官将案件发回下级法院进一步审议。

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.
一名白人女子被德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校拒绝录取之后发起了这一法律案件。Abigail Fisher认为当成绩差不多的少数民族学生因为平权法案被录取时，拒绝录取她是错误的。

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.
Wade Henderson是公民权利和人权领导会议主席。他说，新的裁决再次确认，增加每个人的机会符合美国利益。

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.
Clarence Thomas是最高法院唯一的非洲裔美国人。他投票时遵从了多数人的意见，但写出了他独立观点。他的意见是强烈抨击高校招生平权法案违反了美国宪法。他还表示，多样性本身对教育没有任何好处。

Ada Meloy is general counsel for the non-profit American Council on Education.
Ada Meloy是非营利性的美国教育委员会的总法律顾问。

"...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."
“高校应该有权决定谁被录取。而那些高校认为应该考虑种族并做出这样的决定，他们能够这样做，这符合19世纪70年代以来由最高法院颁布的法律。”

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.
她说，尚不确定美国4000所左右的高等院校有多少间使用这些标准来决定录取哪些学生。Meloy女士说，许多学校一般不会特别考虑申请人的种族。