Breaking down the Affirmative Action Supreme Court Case
Over the last few months, the cases for and against Affirmative Action have dominated the news. This is because a students rights organization, Students for Fair Admissions, has filed a lawsuit against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill claiming that Asian-American students are being discriminated against based on race. Currently, the Supreme Court of the United States is deciding on the future of Affirmative Action and race-conscious admissions. So, let’s break down what we know so far.
What exactly is Affirmative Action?
Affirmative Action, as defined by Cornell Law School, is “a set of procedures designed to; eliminate unlawful discrimination among applicants, remedy the results of such prior discrimination, and prevent such discrimination in the future.” Simply put, Affirmative Action promotes and ensures diversity while working to prevent discrimination based on race, creed, color, and national origin.
The practice of Affirmative Action has been a divisive point since its inception. Originally an Executive Order by President Kennedy in 1961 before being solidified into law with the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the following decades, the policy has faced many challenges.
What do we know about this case?
The first lawsuit was filed by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) against Harvard University on November 17, 2014. The claim brought by SFFA is that Harvard’s race-conscious admissions policy unlawfully discriminates against Asian-American applicants in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The case was brought before lower courts twice with the courts siding with Harvard both times thereby upholding race-conscious admissions. It was then elevated to the Supreme Court where the lawsuit was expanded to include the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
On October 31, 2022, the Supreme Court heard arguments from SFFA, Harvard, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. SFFA argues that Asian-American applicants are being rejected in favor of Black and Latinx students. However, Harvard provided evidence that this is not the case. According to Harvard data, for the actual admitted Class of 2019, Asian-American students comprised 24% of admitted students, while Black and Latinx students each comprised 14%. Even combined, the total percentage of Black and Latinx students barely outnumbers that of Asian-American students. Harvard predicts that eliminating race-conscious admissions would negatively affect Black and Latinx students bringing their numbers down to 6% and 9%, respectively while only increasing Asian-American admissions by approximately 3%.
What’s most telling about SFFA is that they are not focusing their efforts on calling out other systems of preference such as legacy admissions or athletic recruiting, which both give preference to some students over others. SFFA’s argument is based solely on race.
The reality of the situation is that, given the conservative stance of the current Supreme Court, Affirmative Action will likely be overturned, setting Civil Rights advancements back over half a century. If this happens, race can no longer be a factor when determining admissions.
Ivy Link’s Approach
At Ivy Link, we work with individual students from a variety of backgrounds to create the best application that each student can present. Sometimes, that involves advising students to openly state their race on their applications. We stand behind Affirmative Action. We believe it promotes diversity and creates opportunities for the future of the America we wish to see.
We will continue to provide updates as they develop. Check back for more information as it becomes available.
If you or your student would like to learn more about how Ivy Link helps students gain admission to their top-choice colleges, contact us below.
