Originally published June 29, 2023 8:59 am PDT
In a historic decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, June 29, 2023, that the race-based admissions programs of the University of North Carolina and Harvard College are in violation of the Constitution.
This ruling marks the end of an era of so-called affirmative action in college admissions, effectively dismantling a policy that has prevailed for over half a century.
The judgment in the University of North Carolina case was decided 6-3, falling along ideological lines, while the Harvard case saw a 6-2 ruling, as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson stepped back from the case.
Chief Justice John Roberts penned the majority opinion, which received support from Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
Justice Thomas voiced a concurring opinion from the bench.
For the first time this term, a dissenting justice, Sonia Sotomayor, vocalized her objection.
In the majority opinion, Roberts stated: “The Harvard and UNC admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause. Both programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points. We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today.”
He further clarified that colleges may continue to evaluate “an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.”
However, the decision does not apply to military academies due to their “potentially distinct interests.”
Roberts emphasized the need to assess students based on their individual experiences, rather than racial factors.
He stated that many universities had erroneously centered their evaluations around an applicant’s racial identity, rather than their personal experiences and achievements.
“Many universities have for too long done just the opposite,” Roberts said. “And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”
Justice Sotomayor, backed by Justice Elena Kagan and Jackson, expressed her disagreement in a dissent.
According to Sotomayor, the majority opinion is “not grounded in law or fact and contravenes the vision of equality embodied in the Fourteenth Amendment.”
Sotomayor’s dissent criticizes the court’s move as a setback to the strides made in achieving racial equality.
She wrote, “Today, this Court stands in the way and rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress. It holds that race can no longer be used in a limited way in college admissions to achieve such critical benefits.”
Sotomayor sees the decision as a threat to equal protection by further perpetuating racial inequality in education, “the very foundation of our democratic government and pluralistic society.”
The win for conservatives can be seen as a result of the actions by former President Donald J. Trump, who over the course of his White House tenure appointed three right-leaning Supreme Court justices: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
All three sided with Chief Justice Roberts’ decision.
Responding to the news, Trump wrote, “This is a great day for America. People with extraordinary ability and everything else necessary for success, including future greatness for our country, are finally being rewarded.”
He added, “This is the ruling everyone was waiting and hoping for and the result was amazing. It will also keep us competitive with the rest of the world. Our greatest minds must be cherished and that’s what this wonderful day has brought. We’re going back to all merit-based—and that’s the way it should be!”
U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY) echoed Trump’s sentiment, saying, “This is a major victory for the American Dream and all students. Today’s Supreme Court decision correctly rules that in the United States of America, every individual has the opportunity to succeed, regardless of background or race.”
“American excellence was founded on the principles of merit, fairness, and equality of opportunity,” she continued.
Read the opinion below:
