The trial that is winding down this week in federal district court in Boston, Students For Fair Admissions v. Harvard College, has once again focused attention on preferential treatment based on race and ethnicity in college admissions. This time, however, the focus is on discrimination against Asian Americans, not whites.

It’s an odd controversy, since a substantial majority of the American public has long since made up its mind. In the most recent of many public opinion surveys that have reached the same conclusion, an extensive survey by the liberal group More in Common found that even though 81 percent of Americans believe that there are serious problems of racism in the country today, “a full 85 percent also believe that race should not be considered in decisions on college admissions.”