Nagra Blog Post 2

     Harris’ development of the idea of merit throughout her paper, particularly regarding University of California Regents v. Bakke, was something I found extremely interesting. Harris states that “merit is a constructed idea, not a fact” and that this idea is “selected with ‘merit’ objectives” In mind (1771). Harris hints at the term’s complexity by putting it in scare quotes and emphasizes that merit is fluid and shifting. This raises the question of if and how someone can quantify merit. It is evident that different opinions on the matter exist. The court ruled in favor of Bakke in his case, while, in contrast, others like Dworkin believe that “merit could not be assumed to mean only undergraduate GPA and MCAT performance” (1771). 

    The idea of merit seems to be deeply intertwined with power and property. By ruling for Bakke, the courts decided that merit was GPA and test scores, a definition that commentators claim is “biased against minorities” (1771). I wholly agree with this conclusion. Those in power decide merit to solidify their authority. At a PWI, the admissions committee may unintentionally favor white students by meriting specific achievements more than others. This follows from Harris’ argument that this definition of merit decided in Bakke had “the character of property” (1711). By codifying merit to GPA and test scores, both of which favor privileged and usually white students, the court added value to whiteness as property. 

    The term “innocent” in Bakke implies that the student was harmed by being denied admission. This seems to have a deeper meaning as to say that affirmative action harms “innocent” white students is to assert that these students have an entitlement to those seats, furthering the exclusivity and value of whiteness as property. This idea can be seen in the section by Fiscus on page 1784. 

Following this, I would like to pose some questions to the class to discuss. What qualifies as merit? If the idea of merit is inherently fluid and changing, how can we be sure that our definition is correct or just? As Harris adds, “it may be said that affirmative action creates a property interest in true equal opportunity,” but what qualities of merit would lead us to this goal (1786)? In essence, what should we merit to achieve equality?