Almost a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of affirmative action admission policies at universities, the issue is back on the docket.

Since Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003, four justices have been replaced, and the possibility of a different ruling has students and faculty at universities across the country wondering what the Court’s decision could mean for them.

If the Supreme Court decides to overrule Grutter v. Bollinger in the current case, Fisher v. University of Texas, affirmative action admission policies could be eliminated at all universities that receive federal funds.

Gregory Vincent, vice president for Diversity and Community Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin, said that he thinks the case has greater implications than student admission.

“This case is about admissions more than anything else, but it will affect other parts of the university too,” Vincent said. “If you have less students of color you won’t have the diversity that you had before.”

This lack of diversity is the first domino to fall in what Vincent said might become a chain reaction started by the elimination of affirmative action in admissions.

“I certainly think that we will see a decrease in diversity groups and programs on campus if the court rules against affirmative action,” Vincent said. “If the numbers of minority students decrease, the programs and groups related to them will decrease as well.”

Vincent is not the only subscriber to the domino effect theory. Executive Director of the American Association for Affirmative Action, Shirley Wilcher said that, depending on the Supreme Court’s ruling, this case could affect more than just who gets into public universities.

“The decision of this case will have a ripple effect on all aspects of universities,” Wilcher said.

Aside from admissions, Wilcher said she believes this case will affect any university-sponsored programs intended to help minorities.

“There are, for lack of a better word, right-wing groups that would challenge and already have challenged diversity programs at universities,” Wilcher said.

“Some limited use of race as part of a holistic admissions system strengthens the excellence of the student body and better prepares students to lead in their respective fields after graduation,” John Charles Boger, Dean of the UNC School of Law said, as reported by The Chapel Hill Herald.

Boger’s statement echoes a portion of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s majority opinion form Grutter v. Bollinger.

“Effective participation by members of all racial and ethnic groups in the civic life of our Nation is essential if the dream of one Nation, indivisible, is to be realized,” O’Connor said.

For the same reason O’Connor supported the constitutionality of affirmative action admission policies, Vincent said the Supreme Court should uphold its earlier ruling.

“The reality is that the elimination of affirmative action admission policies is infringing on the university’s ability to select a class that is appropriate for the student body,” Vincent said. “The Supreme Court speaks for the whole country, and eliminating affirmative action sends a message that universities can’t take the whole person into account.”

According to Wilcher, all public and private universities are watching this case and preparing for how it might affect them, and N.C. State is no exception.

Eileen Goldgeier, vice chancellor and general counsel at N.C. State, said the University is “keeping a close eye on the case.”

“It’s hard to talk about how the case will affect us until it’s decided,” Goldgeier said. “All we can do is wait and see.”

Goldgeier said that the University will not make any plans until a decision has been reached in the Supreme Court.

“We will evaluate the decision and determine what we need to do as it relates to our policies and programs,” Goldgeier said.

Regardless of how the Supreme Court’s ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas affects N.C. State, Wilcher said that if students and administrators do not recognize the importance of diversity at colleges, the “domino effect” might begin anyway.

“We need to look to the future and recognize who our future is,” Wilcher said.