In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a controversial decision, by a 6-3 vote, ruling that admissions practices at both Harvard College and the University of North Carolina violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett joined Justice Roberts in the majority opinion.
Chief Justice Roberts wrote “Both programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race.” The Supreme Court’s opinion went on to hold that colleges and universities may not consider race, for its own sake, in admissions decisions.
Chief Justice Roberts noted in the opinion that colleges and universities are not prohibited “from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise” as long as the student is “treated based on his or her experiences as an individual – not on the basis of race.”
The ruling prompted colleges and universities across the country to both consider changes to their admissions policies, and similarly reaffirm the importance of diversity in education. Many leaders called the ruling disappointing.
At one university, the president and the provost of the University of Virginia released a statement reiterating a commitment to admit a diverse class of students “across every possible dimension” and announcing a new essay prompt that will give students an opportunity to “describe their experiences, including but not limited to their experiences of race or ethnicity, and the ways in which those experiences have shaped their abilities to contribute.”
The president of the University of Notre Dame issued a statement that Notre Dame’s mission “compels us to build a class reflecting the diversity of experiences and gifts of the human family.” Notre Dame similarly added a new essay prompt as part of its supplemental essays that it released on August 1st.
In reaction to the ruling, President Biden stated “I strongly – strongly disagree with the Court’s decision” and that “our colleges are stronger when they are racially diverse.” Only time will tell just how many reverberations will be felt across the college admissions process from this Supreme Court decision.
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