All students should read the following sources on the landmark Supreme Court case of University of California v. Bakke.

• Case brief from Oyez Project
• Lewis Powell’s Announcement on the Supreme Court’s Decision in UC v. Bakke (Excerpts)
• Thurgood Marshall’s Dissenting Opinion (Excerpts)

Divide students into two groups. One group is assigned to argue that the Supreme Court made the right decision in UC v. Bakke, and the other group is assigned to argue that the Supreme Court made the wrong decision.

Students work in their team to prepare an opening statement and central argument. They should support their claims with evidence from the sources and additional research as needed. Run the debate with the following schedule:

• Opening statements from both sides (2 minutes each)
• Main arguments from both sides (5 minutes each)
• Time to regroup and compose a rebuttal (5 minutes)
• Rebuttals from both sides (2 minutes each)
• Closing statements from both sides (2 minutes each)

Students reflect on the debate by writing a paragraph in response to the following question:

• Did the Supreme Court make the right decision in UC v. Bakke? Why or why not? Explain your authentic response using evidence from the debate.