– Supreme Court ends positive discrimination
The racial affiliation of the applicants is no longer taken into account in admission procedures. Biden expressed “strong disagreement” with the decision.
Posted today at 4:33pm. Updated 36 minutes ago
Supporters of higher education affirmative action gather outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC
CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP
US President Joe Biden said Thursday he “totally disagrees” with the Supreme Court ruling ending affirmative action programs at universities and urged academic institutions not to “give up” their commitment to diversity.
“I strongly disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision,” which “turned decades of case law on its head,” he said in a televised address. Universities “should remain committed to ensuring students have diverse experiences that reflect all of America,” he added.
Historical reversal
The very conservative US Supreme Court on Thursday ended university funding programs, a historic reversal a year after its reversal on abortion.
Contrary to the opinion of the three progressives, its six conservative judges ruled that campus admissions procedures based on the color or ethnic origin of the candidates were unconstitutional.
Many universities “have erroneously assumed that the basis of a person’s identity is not their credentials, skills acquired, or knowledge gained, but the color of their skin.” Our constitutional history does not condone that,” Judge John Roberts wrote on behalf of the majority.
“In other words, the student should be treated on the basis of their individual experiences, not on racial criteria,” he adds.
Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy on Thursday welcomed the US Supreme Court’s decision to end college grant programs, saying it would restore “equality” among students.
“Now students can compete on the basis of equal criteria and individual performance. This will make the university admissions process fairer and confirm equality before the law,” he tweeted.
After the civil rights movement of the 1960s, several highly selective universities had introduced racial and ethnic criteria into their admissions procedures to correct inequalities resulting from the United States’ segregationist past.
“Inverted Racism”
Dubbed “affirmative action,” these measures have allowed an increase in Black, Hispanic, and Native American student numbers, but have always been heavily criticized in conservative circles for opaqueness and “reverse racism.”
The Supreme Court, which has been referred to on several occasions since 1978, had banned quotas but always authorized universities to take racial criteria into account, among other things. So far, she has considered striving for more diversity on campus to be “legitimate,” even if it violates the principle of equality for all American citizens.
On Thursday, she made a U-turn, as she had done on June 24, 2022, by rescinding the federal abortion law that had guaranteed her since 1973.
“More than a seat at the table”
His about-face drew a chorus of applause from the right. “It’s a great day for America,” “we’re going back to a performance system,” wrote on Truth Social former Republican President Donald Trump, the originator of this reversal as he overhauled the court significantly during his tenure.
Conversely, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer denounced an “imprudent decision” that “poses a huge obstacle to greater racial justice.”
More measuredly, Barack Obama, the first black President of the United States, emphasized that “affirmative action has never been a complete response to the need to build a more just society.”
But she “gave us a chance to show that we deserve more than just a seat at the table,” he added on Twitter.
“Lipstick on a Pig”
The strongest criticism was voiced within the court itself, whose three progressive judges wrote to express their deep disagreement with their peers.
“Six unelected members of the majority overturned the status quo because of their political preference,” Sonia Sotomayor wrote on her behalf. They preferred “to give a colorless paint to a society in which the question of race is important and will continue to be important”.
Admittedly, the majority authorizes universities to consider candidates’ “personal experiences” and the impact of their skin color on their careers, but that would be “lipstick on a pig,” she said.
Apple, Google and GM
This ruling follows a lawsuit filed in 2014 against the oldest private and public universities in the United States, Harvard and North Carolina.
At the head of a group called Students for Fair Admission, a neocon activist, Edward Blum, had accused them of discriminating against Asian students. The latter, whose academic performance is well above average, would be more numerous on campus if their performance was the sole selection criterion, he argued.
After suffering multiple defeats in court, he turned to the Supreme Court, which ironically has never been more diverse than it is today, with two African American judges and one Hispanic judge.
The administration of Democratic President Joe Biden had advocated the status quo in vain. “The future of our country depends on its ability to have leaders with different profiles, capable of leading an increasingly diverse society,” his representative said.
The President is scheduled to address the issue at 16:30 GMT.
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