This work aimed at analyzing the positioning of students and non-students about racial quotas in the Brazilian public universities and the justifications for that positioning. We also investigated the levels of prejudice existing among the participants and the relationship between their skin color and their positions about those quotas. The participants were 83 students and 63 non-students. The results showed that non-students perceive themselves as more prejudiced and 74% of the them were favorable to the quotas, being the selfdeclared black those that indicated greater agreement. The lexical analysis showed that students anchor their positions in meritocratic principles, while non-students anchor on egalitarian principles, reflecting the way in which these groups symbolically construct the meaning of racial quotas based on their group memberships.Objetivo. Analizar el posicionamiento de estudiantes y no estudiantes frente a las cuotas raciales en las universidades públicas brasileñas, así como las justificaciones para ese posicionamiento. Además, investigar los niveles de prejuicio existentes entre los participantes y la relación entre su color de piel y sus posicionamientos frente a esas cuotas. Participantes. 83 estudiantes y 63 no estudiantes. Los resultados demostraron que los no estudiantes se perciben más prejuiciosos y un 74% de los participantes son favorables a las cuotas, siendo los autodeclarados negros los que indicaron mayor concordancia. El análisis léxico demostró que los estudiantes anclan sus posicionamientos en principios meritocráticos, mientras que los no universitarios anclan en principios igualitarios, reflejando la forma en cómo estos grupos construyen simbólicamente el significado de las cuotas raciales a partir de sus pertenencias sociales.This work aimed at analyzing the positioning of students and non-students about racial quotas in the Brazilian public universities and the justifications for that positioning. We also investigated the levels of prejudice existing among the participants and the relationship between their skin color and their positions about those quotas. The participants were 83 students and 63 non-students. The results showed that non-students perceive themselves as more prejudiced and 74% of the them were favorable to the quotas, being the selfdeclared black those that indicated greater agreement. The lexical analysis showed that students anchor their positions in meritocratic principles, while non-students anchor on egalitarian principles, reflecting the way in which these groups symbolically construct the meaning of racial quotas based on their group memberships.This work aimed at analyzing the positioning of students and non-students about racial quotas in the Brazilian public universities and the justifications for that positioning. We also investigated the levels of prejudice existing among the participants and the relationship between their skin color and their positions about those quotas. The participants were 83 students and 63 non-students. The results showed that non-students perceive themselves as more prejudiced and 74% of the them were favorable to the quotas, being the selfdeclared black those that indicated greater agreement. The lexical analysis showed that students anchor their positions in meritocratic principles, while non-students anchor on egalitarian principles, reflecting the way in which these groups symbolically construct the meaning of racial quotas based on their group memberships.