Supreme Court’s Landmark Ruling on University Affirmative Action

The Supreme Court Rules Against Affirmative Action Policies at Harvard and UNC

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has ruled against the affirmative action policies of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. This ruling will have a profound effect on university admissions processes across the country.

The court found that Harvard’s race-based admissions program violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, while the University of North Carolina violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

The vote was six to three in the University of North Carolina case and six to two in the Harvard case. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Harvard graduate and former board member, recused herself from the Harvard case.

Justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett voted with the majority in both cases.

“Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the opinion for the majority.

The court’s opinion stated that universities may still consider an applicant’s discussion of how race affected their life, but they cannot establish an unlawful regime through application essays or other means.

Justices Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor wrote dissents, with Sotomayor accusing the majority of further entrenching racial inequality in education.

“Today, this Court stands in the way and rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress,” Sotomayor wrote, adding that the court “cements a superficial rule of colorblindness as a constitutional principle in an endemically segregated society where race has always mattered and continues to matter.”

The ruling resolves cases brought by students against Harvard and the University of North Carolina. The group Students for Fair Admissions sued the schools, alleging unfair treatment based on race in the admissions process.

Students for Fair Admissions argued that Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, while the University of North Carolina violated the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.

“Racial classifications are wrong,” said Patrick Strawbridge, the student group’s attorney, during opening arguments.

The plaintiffs had asked the Supreme Court to overrule the 2003 case, Grutter v. Bollinger, which allowed the University of Michigan Law School to consider race in admissions. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor had expressed the expectation that racial preferences would no longer be necessary in 25 years.

In the court’s opinion, Justice Roberts noted that two decades have passed since the Grutter decision.

“Twenty years have passed since Grutter, with no end to race-based college admissions in sight. But the Court has permitted race-based college admissions only within the confines of narrow restrictions: such admissions programs must comply with strict scrutiny, may never use race as a stereotype or negative, and must — at some point — end.”

The ruling will require hundreds of universities to find non-race-related ways to achieve diversity in their admissions and scholarship decisions. Some schools have already begun to move away from using standardized test scores and are considering other methods, such as requiring more essays or recruiting students from minority areas.

The ruling is expected to face future legal challenges from affirmative action supporters. However, a recent Reuters poll shows that a majority of Americans, 62%, oppose race-based college admissions.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases