Jan. 21, 2024
By Jessica Cerrito
Staff Writer
As seniors apply to college and begin receiving responses from their prospective schools, they may be unaware of a major change that could impact their chances of being admitted.
In a 6-3 ruling on June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court struck down the use of affirmative action in college and university admissions. Therefore, these institutions can no longer use race and ethnicity as qualifiers for admission to enhance racial diversity and provide equal opportunity.
In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, which was decided in 1978, the Supreme Court ruled that colleges could use race as a factor for admissions but could not use racial quota systems.
Since then, there have been several high-profile lawsuits that have tried to overturn the ruling, which is what finally happened last summer with Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Senior Sadia Iqbal said this ruling is a step in the right direction.
“Affirmative action is not a good qualifier for admissions because, although it is important to have diversity amongst college campuses, admissions to schools should be based on academic achievements and hard work,” Iqbal said. “By eliminating affirmative action, schools can become blind to color and race and base their admissions decisions solely on student dedication.”
As a person of Persian ethnicity, Iqbal said the elimination of affirmative action could negatively affect her academic prospects. However, she is happy because her acceptances into college will now be purely reflective of her ability and diligence.
“Although eliminating affirmative action from admissions could cause colleges to struggle to meet the goals of diversity, I feel that this could also allow students to have equal opportunity,” Iqbal said. “Affirmative action was created to benefit many people in minority groups, so it can be unfair towards people such as Caucasians and other groups.”
Senior Gabriel Diaz also agrees with the court’s decision. He said, while it is necessary for colleges to recognize decades of race-based exclusion, current disparities could be better addressed by focusing on students’ economic backgrounds.
“Race is not a one-to-one correlation with what resources you may have in your academic career. Admissions should be based on economic status to address the fact that some are just given more chances to succeed than others,” Diaz said. “This would solve both goals of increasing diversity in schools while also elevating disadvantaged communities by providing opportunities to people who need them.”
“Affirmative action is meant to even the playing field, but it can also give an unfair advantage to minorities.”
According to the court’s decision, military schools are exempt from the ruling and can continue using affirmative action in their admission processes. Diaz said he disagrees with this exception.
“It is somewhat unfair because military schools should also be basing their admissions on merit and needs,” Diaz said.
History teacher Mr. Spence said affirmative action can be both positive and negative depending on the situation.
“In certain circumstances, affirmative action works to promote equality, but there are certain circumstances where it doesn’t work and, therefore, puts people in the majority at a disadvantage,” Spence said. “It has to be looked at on a case-by-case basis.”
When two students are equal in all aspects academically, economically and socially, he said he does not believe affirmative action should factor into the admissions decision.
“When affirmative action came around, it was necessary because of the trends that we were seeing in college admissions. However, as we’ve advanced as a society, I think there is less of a need for affirmative action,” Spence said.
“With that being said, I think that we shouldn’t get rid of affirmative action if we’re going to keep factors like legacy and athletic ability at the forefront of the college admissions process.”
Sophomore Debra Ogunbowale said she is disappointed affirmative action has been eliminated.
“Affirmative action is a good admission qualifier because it increases the diversity of colleges and adds inclusivity. Getting rid of affirmative action will make it even more difficult for people of ethnic minorities to gain admission into selective schools,” Ogunbowale said.
As an African American, Ogunbowale said affirmative action would have improved her chances of being accepted into competitive colleges and universities.
“Besides academic results and extracurricular activities, affirmative action would have served as [a boost to] my applications,” Ogunbowale said. “Its purpose is to help minority students who are oftentimes discriminated against or overlooked during admission processes.”
Senior Isabella Guzman said she is happy colleges and universities can no longer consider race in admissions.
“Affirmative action is meant to even the playing field, but it can also give an unfair advantage to minorities,” Guzman said.
She said the Supreme Court was correct in ruling that affirmative action is unconstitutional because it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
“The Fourteenth Amendment protects people against certain privileges and immunities. Everyone should be viewed as equal under the law. If everyone wants to be equal, we need to stop pointing out differences,” said Guzman.
