Supreme Court outlaws affirmative action in college admissions based on race.

The Supreme Court Ends Affirmative Action in College Admissions

The Supreme Court has made a landmark ruling to ban the consideration of race in college admissions decisions, effectively ending the practice of affirmative action. This decision applies to prestigious institutions such as Harvard University and the University of North Carolina.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority, overturning the 1978 case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, which had previously upheld race-conscious admissions at universities.

However, not all justices agreed with this ruling. Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, along with Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson in the Harvard case. Jackson also dissented in the UNC case, joined by Sotomayor and Kagan.

These cases were brought to the court by the nonprofit group Students for Fair Admissions, led by conservative legal strategist Edward Blum, who has long been critical of affirmative action policies.

The court’s 6-3 Republican-appointed majority has been leaning towards a decision against affirmative action for some time. Chief Justice John Roberts himself has been a vocal opponent of such policies, stating in a previous case that “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”

During the oral arguments in October 2022, it was clear that the court was inclined to ban affirmative action. The conservative justices expressed skepticism towards the practice, despite pleas from Harvard, UNC, and the U.S. Solicitor General to allow it to continue.

These cases allege that Harvard and UNC unlawfully discriminate against certain racial groups in their admissions policies. The lawsuits claim violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment promise of equal protection under the law.

By banning affirmative action, elite colleges will need to find new ways to ensure diversity in their student populations without considering race. Some universities have expressed concerns that this decision could result in fewer minority students on their campuses.

However, legal experts speculate that colleges may attempt to maintain a superficial vision of diversity without explicitly considering race in their admissions process.

Looking ahead, the issue of race-neutral admissions policies implemented for racially conscious ends may soon reach the Supreme Court. A case involving Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology in Virginia, where changes were made to increase the number of black and brown students and decrease the number of Asian students, could potentially be heard by the court.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the school’s new admissions process did not violate federal law, but the case may still make its way to the Supreme Court.

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