Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action: Clarity and limitations in brief.

CNN

The Supreme Court’s Landmark Decision

The Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision has made it unlawful for colleges to consider race as a specific factor in admissions. This ruling has major consequences for admissions programs like those at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, which can no longer take race into consideration.

Impact of the Ruling

Here are some key effects of the Supreme Court’s ruling:

While the decision will impact admissions policies that historically benefited Black and Latino students, colleges and universities can still consider an applicant’s discussion of how race has affected their life if it is tied to a “quality of character or unique ability” that can benefit the school.

Chief Justice John Roberts emphasized that applicants can also share in their essays how their heritage or culture has motivated them to take on leadership roles.

However, dissenting Democratic-appointed justices argued that this ruling would make it practically impossible for colleges to consider race in admissions and accused the Court of imposing its preferred college application format on the country.

Continued Efforts for Diversity

While colleges and universities can no longer consider race as the sole factor, they can still take other factors into account to increase diversity on campus. For example, they can consider applicants who speak multiple languages or those who would be the first in their family to attend college.

The Biden administration has also announced plans to help colleges recruit diverse student bodies by releasing a report on strategies for increasing diversity and providing guidance on what is and isn’t allowed.

Varied Impact and Future Efforts

The impact of the ruling may vary depending on the location of schools. In states that still permit colleges to consider race, efforts may be made to encourage the uses that the majority does not expressly disavow, such as diversity statements.

It’s important to note that not all higher education institutions will be affected by this ruling. US military service academies, for instance, can still take race into consideration as a factor in admissions.