The US Supreme Court essentially outlawed the use of race as a criterion for admission to institutions, ushering in a new era in higher education and overturning decades of precedent.
The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that programs at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina violated the Constitution’s equal protection requirement, voting 6-3 along ideological lines.
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing on behalf of the court, refuted claims that the programs were necessary to ensure campus diversity.
According to Roberts, many colleges “have incorrectly concluded that the defining characteristic of an individual’s identity is not obstacles overcome, capacities developed, or lessons learned, but the color of their skin.
“That choice is not permitted by the history of our constitution.”
The decision might result in fewer Black and Hispanic students attending the best universities in the nation and compel hundreds of institutions to change their admissions procedures.
Despite nine states, including California and Florida, banning the practice at public schools, studies show that the majority of prestigious US colleges currently take race into account when admitting students.
President Joe Biden told reporters on Thursday that “the court once again walked away from decades of precedent.” “I vehemently, vehemently disagree with the court’s decision, which effectively ends affirmative action in college admissions.
The majority of the high court avoided directly declaring that it was rejecting the 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger ruling, which had upheld colleges’ freedom to use race as one of several admissions criteria.
However, Justice Clarence Thomas stated in a concurring opinion that the decision “is, for all intents and purposes, overruled.”
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