MISMATCH: Two years ago this week, the Supreme Court decided Fisher v. University of Texas (2016)(Fisher II). By a 4-3 vote, it denied relief to Abigail Fisher, a young woman who had been discriminated against in admissions because she was white.

At oral argument, Justice Scalia (just two months before his death) had pointed out that there is evidence that when an affirmative action beneficiary (or an athlete or a legacy or anybody) attends a school where the rest of the students have much higher academic credentials, it hurts rather than helps his chance of ultimately becoming a doctor, a lawyer, an engineers, a professor or other high-status professional. Harry Reid (and the media) went wild, accusing Scalia of racism.

Despite the skewering, Scalia was simply stating a fact. There is plenty of evidence that “mismatch” is a problem. Try these:

A ‘Dubious Expediency’: How Race-Preferential Admissions Policies on Campus Hurt Minority Students 

Want to Be a Doctor? A Scientist? An Engineer? An Affirmative Action Leg Up May Hurt Your Chances

Alas, not enough people know about the mismatch effect (in large part because so-called liberals attack those who mention it). An organization that I am affiliated with recently conducted a focus group in part on this topic. I’m not a big fan of focus groups, but the results of this one were what I would have expected: The participants—ordinary citizens, many of them sympathetic toward race-preferential admissions—had never heard of the research on mismatch. When it was brought to their attention, they considered it very important.

So pass it on. Make sure your loved ones know about the evidence (yes, including your liberal brother-in-law).