Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action at US universities

The decision ends decades of affirmative action policies at American universities. In the 1960s, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson asked all institutions receiving government assistance to “affirmative action‘, affirmative action, to increase diversity.

Subsequently, several universities introduced ethnic quotas, after which the representation of certain minorities on university campuses actually improved. African Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos in particular have benefited from the program.

But, as is often the case with quotas, this too came at the expense of others who felt disadvantaged. Several studies found that white and Asian students had to achieve higher average grades to enter elite universities than black and Latino students.

‘Unconstitutional’

The fact that Harvard University explicitly includes ethnicity in the admissions process is unfair and unconstitutional, according to the Asian-American student collective “Students for Fair Admissions”, for example, which later filed a lawsuit against the elite university.

The six conservative justices of America’s highest court agreed and ruled that admissions procedures based on skin color or ethnicity were unconstitutional. “Academic curricula should never stereotype race, positively or negatively,” Chief Justice John Roberts said.

Conservatives reacted with joy to the verdict. “There is no place for racial discrimination in the United States, and I’m glad the Supreme Court has ended this gross violation of civil and constitutional rights,” former Vice President Mike Pence said. .

‘Big mistake’

The three progressive justices — outnumbered on the court since Trump’s presidency — voted against scrapping affirmative action. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Latin America’s first Supreme Court justice, called the ruling “a huge mistake” and said it would limit opportunities for people across the country.

Opinions on affirmative action have been deeply divided for years, including among progressive Americans. Because if the policy led to more diversity, it would have mainly benefited well-off students from minority groups, to the detriment of the poorest students of all population groups.

CNN legal analyst Laura Coates expects the decision to cause many problems for colleges and universities, she said on the American network. Because while students may still write about their backgrounds in their admissions essays “through a personal lens,” then admissions committees should start reading them “colorblind.” “How’s it going to work?”