Students would have to be judged based on individual performance, not based on ethnic and social criteria in the controversial “Affirmative Action” sense.
The US Supreme Court has delivered a judgment that is likely to cause a stir in ideologically heated US circles, particularly colleges and universities. American universities can no longer give preference to students because of their skin color when they are admitted. The Washington court ruled on Thursday in a historic judgment that reflects the conservative majority among judges.
The practice, common for decades as “affirmative action,” violates the constitution, he said. With this approach, universities have tried for decades to ensure better access to universities for minorities. “The student should be treated on the basis of his experiences as an individual – not on the basis of his race,” wrote Conservative Judge John Roberts in his verdict. “Many universities have done the exact opposite for a long time. And in doing so, they mistakenly concluded that the cornerstone of a person’s identity is not the challenges overcome, the skills acquired or the lessons learned, but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not condone this decision.”
Harvard students in 2018. Portal/Brian Snyder
In the US, the term “race” is used to differentiate population groups based on skin color and is not used as it is in German-speaking countries. The decision concerned lawsuits brought by the student organization Students for Fair Admissions against the elite private university Harvard and North Carolina State University (UNC). The plaintiffs argue, among other things, that applicants with Asian roots are disadvantaged by the selection process, which is particularly targeted at African Americans.
Good intentions cement differences and divide society
Measures known as affirmative action were introduced in the 1960s as part of the civil rights movement. The aim was to give black people better access to a good education after centuries of oppression, discrimination and disadvantage. However, such programs were controversial from the start. For example, white college applicants went to court on the grounds that they were victims of “reverse discrimination”. Critics also say that considering skin color as a criterion only cements the division of people into different groups and thus further divides society.
In 1978, the Supreme Court ruled that universities should not use fixed quotas based on skin color when selecting candidates. However, color or ethnicity can be used as one of several criteria to ensure diversity in the student body.
Now the court, which has shifted from left to right in recent years, has overturned the principle of affirmative action. On the Supreme Court, conservatives make up a majority of six of the nine justices; two of them are black, one of them is assigned to the republican camp. (APA/AFP/red.)