The Impact Of Supreme court’s Verdict On Race As A Factor In College Admission

Supreme Court

On 29th June, Thursday, Supreme Court decreed that colleges are not allowed to take racial factors into consideration while admitting candidates from non-white communities in America. Although the majority states that the university will consider an applicant’s individual experience of being a racial other which will bring diversity to the campus space, the minority populace believes that it will affect the Black and Latino students who would historically be given some reservations on the ground of their racial identity through generations.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts opines as the mouthpiece of the majority that applicants can express their traditional values and experience and how these shaped them as individuals. It explicates how the emphasis has been shifted from the “racial identity” of the individuals to their “unique experience”. 

The Supreme Court Is Not Unanimous On The Matter

There are dissenting voices among the Justices of the Supreme Court as well. For instance, Justice Sonia Sotomayor states that Court is taking over the college administration by taking decisions on its behalf. She also adds that the court despite being aware of how the racial tensions exist in the society even today and how it impacts the lives of the victims, accentuates the false claim of providing equality for all. 

From now on the factors which will be taken into consideration instead of “Race” are – community background, individual experience – whether the applicants are first-generation college-goers whether they speak multiple languages, and so on. The jurisdiction also announced a few steps to ensure that diverse bodies of students are admitted to the colleges, which include making reports on increasing diversity, academic improvement, and opportunity. 

It is also mentioned that this ruling will vary from state to state depending on the location of the school. Although it abolishes the consideration of racial factors in higher education institutes like Herbert and North Carolina University, it allows US military academics to continue taking into account the racial factor as a category in the admission process. Steve Vladeck, an analyst in the Supreme Court and professor at the University of Texas School of Law, states that regardless of the fact whether or not universities consider Race as a factor in admissions, they will continue promoting diversity statements among the student bodies.