Abigail Fisher, a white female, applied for admission to the University of Texas but was denied. She did not qualify for Texas' Top Ten Percent Plan, which guarantees admission to the top ten percent of every in-state graduating high school class. For the remaining spots, the university considers many factors, including race. Fisher sued the University and argued that the use of race as a consideration in the admissions process violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

a. Does the University of Texas's use of race as a consideration in the admissions process violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

b.  For what reasons was affirmative action considered necessary originally, and  these reasons still exist today? Why or why not? 

c. How does opinion on affirmative action in college admissions differ from  affirmative action in hiring, employment, and money-lending?