The US Supreme Court effectively ended affirmative action, which allowed US colleges and universities to consider race in their admissions programs. In a consolidated case brought by Students for Fair Admissions, Inc., the court found that Harvard University—a private university—and the University of North Carolina (UNC)—a public university—violated the US Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause by considering a potential student’s race as a factor in their college admissions programs.
Writing for the 6-3 majority, Chief Justice John Roberts explained that a student “must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual — not on the basis of race.”
In their arguments before the court, Harvard and UNC argued that race has historically been, and should continue to be, treated as a factor in admissions decisions. They insisted that affirmative action allows colleges to create a more diverse educational environment, which leads to a variety of positive outcomes for their students.
The court found that “[a]lthough these are commendable goals, they are not sufficiently coherent for the purposes of strict scrutiny.” The court continued, “Courts may not license separating students on the basis of race without an exceedingly persuasive justification that is measurable and concrete enough to permit judicial review…The programs at issue here do not satisfy that standard.”
Following the court’s 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, the court held that only a limited application of affirmative action was permitted under the law. As a result, schools could only consider race as a factor after culling a pool of qualified candidates, usually based on metrics like grade point averages and test scores. The court also implemented its highest standard of review, known as strict scrutiny, for affirmative action cases. Under this standard, the court assumes the law or policy to be invalid unless the party advocating for its continued existence proves a compelling interest.
In their decision Thursday, the court found that Harvard and UNC failed to meet the strict scrutiny standard regarding their affirmative action programs. Explaining their decision, the court said that both Harvard and UNC “lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points.”
President Joe Biden spoke to the court’s decision later on Thursday, stating, “Today the court once again walked away from decades of precedent.” He went on to state that he disagreed with the ruling. “Many people wrongly believe that affirmative action allows unqualified students to be admitted ahead of qualified students. This is not how college admissions work.”
It is only once students meet the school’s general requirements that colleges consider other factors, such as race. But since that standard was effectively killed by the court Thursday, Biden instead suggested colleges consider the “adversity” a student has overcome in reaching their admissions process, which was briefly mentioned as a potential alternative at the end of Roberts’ majority opinion. Biden insisted, “We cannot let this decision be the last word. While the court can render a decision, it cannot change what America stands for.”
Harvard University’s President-Elect Claudine Gay also issued a statement Thursday on behalf of the school. She stated, “The Supreme Court’s decision…will change how we pursue the educational benefits of diversity, but our commitment to that work remains steadfast. It is essential to who we are and the mission that we are here to advance.”
University of North Carolina President Peter Hans echoed Gay in his statement, commenting, “The most important work of higher education is not in deciding how to allocate limited admissions slots at highly competitive schools, but in reaching and encouraging more students to take advantage of our…public universities.”
Both Harvard and UNC admitted to the court that if affirmative action were to end, their college admissions demographics would “meaningfully change.” States such as California and Michigan, which have already done away with affirmative action, saw drastic drops in enrollment of students of a racial minority. At the University of California at Berkeley, for example, college admissions for students of a racial minority dropped by about 50 percent.
