Supreme Court Rules to Strike Down Affirmative Action

BY MICHELLE N. AMPONSAH AND EMMA H. HAIDAR CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

The Supreme Court severely curtailed affirmative action in higher education admissions, declaring Harvard’s race-conscious admissions policy unconstitutional in a ruling against the school Thursday.

The 6-2 decision — widely expected by legal scholars due to the Court’s strong conservative majority — marks a major setback for Harvard, which has faced scrutiny for its admissions practices since anti-affirmative action group Students for Fair Admissions first filed suit in 2014.

The SFFA suit alleged the College’s admissions processes discriminate against Asian Americans in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans institutions that receive federal funds from discriminating “on the grounds of race, color, or national origin.”

The Supreme Court also ruled against the University of North Carolina and its admissions policies in an 6-3 decision. Justices heard the suits, both brought by SFFA, on the same day last October. In the majority opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts ’76, the Court ruled that Harvard’s and UNC’s admission policies violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and ruled that the highest standard of judicial review — strict scrutiny — must be applied.

“University programs must comply with strict scrutiny, they may never use race as a stereotype or negative, and — at some point — they must end,” the opinion states. “Respondents’ admissions systems — however well intentioned and implemented in good faith — fail each of these