Fisher v. University Texas at Austin has many minority groups in arms; dividing college campuses and re-sparking the flame of whether or not race should be taken into account during the admissions process. Abigail Fisher, a 22-year-old white woman who was rejected from University of Texas at Austin in 2008, has filed suit against the school, arguing its consideration of race doesn’t meet standards previously set by the high court.

Precedence was set in 2003 with the Grutter v. Bollinger case which allowed universities to consider “race” as a holistic view, but here are five things to know about affirmative action:

1. Why it was started: The earliest implementation of affirmative action policies, before Kennedy coined the phrase, began under President Franklin Roosevelt in the second World War. He banned discrimination in the government and those involved in “war-related” work.

2. Why it is controversial:  Quotas. The idea of a limited number of admissions or jobs for members of underrepresented groups and any type of preferential treatment runs counter to how we view our American dream, critics argue.

That idea became central in the Massachusetts Senate race between Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren. Warren was accused of using her Native American ancestry for jobs but has denied doing so.

3. How it’s changed:While affirmative action is usually spoken of in general terms, there is no singular policy or implementation of the ways in which affirmative action take shape in government organizations, colleges and corporations varies.

Court cases continue to refine interpretations of how race is used at the university level. Some schools have experimented with a variety of ways of non-race-based models, like the Top 10 model that the University of Texas employs, to ensure the racial diversity of students.

4. How society feels about it: In a 2009 Pew poll, the majority of Americans supported affirmative action but strongly disagreed about minority preference. And while most African Americans (58%) and Hispanics (53%) agreed that minorities should get preferential treatment, only 22% of whites agreed.

5. Where it exists: Though quotas have been outlawed in the United States, the European Union has had a recent push to punish companies whose boards aren’t composed of at least 40% women. And India, Brazil and Malaysia, among other countries, have laws and policies that address affirmative action in schools and throughout society.

Students currently in college, diversity initiatives directors and activists passionate about underrepresented populations need to pay attention to this case in the Supreme Court circuit. A diverse student body on every college campus is a indispensable experience and contributes to the training of future leaders, consumers and those same individuals arguing for and against this very case.