Supreme Court rejects affirmative action for college admissions

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action at colleges in a landmark case Thursday.

The court ruled the affirmative action admission policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina, which considers potential students’ races to decide admission, are unconstitutional. 

The Court decided colleges and universities can no longer take race into consideration during the admissions process. 

Students for Fair Admissions, a student activist group, brought cases against both colleges.

Until now, the Supreme Court ruled colleges and universities may consider race and ethnicity in admission since 1978. 

The majority of the Court, including all six conservative justices, believes the universities violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. 

The majority ruled affirmative action at these colleges involves “racial stereotyping.”

The minority of the Court, including justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown and Elena Kagan, dissented in support of affirmative action. 

“Today, this Court stands in the way and rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress,” Sotomayor said. 

UF describes itself as a diverse and equitable environment for all students and employees.

The university prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, according to its regulations. 

UF Spokesperson Cynthia Roldan wrote there is no single factor that influences admissions decisions, including race. 

“[UF is] guided by a comprehensive, holistic review process that evaluates academic and nonacademic criteria, in addition to standards established by the Florida Board of Governors for all State University System schools,” Roldan wrote. 

The BOG establishes all Florida universities must not include preferences based on race or color during the admissions process, according to its admissions regulations.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Claire at cgrunewald@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @grunewaldclaire.

---