The basis of these two cases hinges on the use of affirmative action and minority students
special status. Thomas Madison wants to be included in the schools list of minority groups
because of his sexual orientation. He feels that as a homosexual man, he deserves extra
considerations due to the hardships that he has faced. He believes that like the other
minority groups on campus, that he will bring diversity to the University of Southern Iowa
States campus. So at the heart of the his case is, what role should affirmative action play
on a university application? The first question that should be answered is what is
affirmative action and hows should it be correctly administered. Affirmative action is
defined as an action or policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination, most
often in relation to employment or education. Affirmative action is often called positive or
reverse discrimination. The first question that must be answered, is affirmative action
constitutional? Affirmative action is not an expressed right in the Constitution but can be
added through Judicial decisions of the Supreme Court and legislative powers of the
United States Congress. Actually the only amendment that deals directly with race is the
Fifteenth and that amendment only deals with race and voting. In fact it can be argued that
the Fourteenth Amendment outlaws Affirmative Action based on the “Equal Protection
Under the Law” clause. The first major legislation that deals with affirmative action is the
Civil Rights Act of 1964. In that act it allowed courts to require employers guilty of
