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People celebrate the US Supreme Court ruling that universities cannot consider race in admissions.
US Supreme Court ends affirmative action in college admissions
The US Supreme Court ruled today to end affirmative action policies in college admissions, prohibiting race from being used as a factor in deciding who gets acceptance letters. The decision, powered by the court’s conservative flank, will force over 40% of US colleges to overhaul their admissions policies.
The case accused the University of North Carolina and Harvard University admissions policies of discriminating against white and Asian American applicants. UNC and Harvard argued that race is just one of many factors taken into consideration and is done so to ensure diversity and racial equity.
The majority opinion (6-3 against UNC, 6-2 against Harvard) ruled that affirmative action makes race “the touchstone of an individual’s identity” and violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution. Military service academies were exempt from the ruling.
Mandating that universities use colorblind admissions criteria may decrease racial diversity and limit the pool of students universities draw from. But even before this ruling, US colleges – especially at selective schools – have limited their talent pool by depending on criteria that benefit applicants from wealthy backgrounds.
In the best-case scenario, forcing colleges to overhaul their admissions criteria could lead to a better, perhaps more holistic system that accepts more first-generation college students, racial minorities, and economically disadvantaged students. Worst-case scenario? This ruling decreases diversity on campuses and enables colleges to ignore that racial discrimination still permeates American society. The wider political response has fallen along predictable partisan lines – liberals lamenting and conservatives cheering.
Affirmative action withstood the Supreme Court’s scrutiny for decades, but this court hasn’t shied away from overturning precedent on cases with major societal implications. In a landmark decision last year, the court overturned Roe v. Wade – upending nationwide abortion access.
And the courts aren’t done with college students. Friday, the court is set to announce the fate of President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, which, if upheld, would wipe out more than $400 billion in student debt. It will also rule on whether the First Amendment protects a web designer who refused to create websites for same-sex weddings.
Who polices the Supreme Court?
Who watches the watchmen? And who oversees the US Supreme Court? As SCOTUS, the highest court in the US, gears up to issue some blockbuster rulings this summer, ethical concerns swirl around its members, and its public support is at an all-time low.
It’s been one year since SCOTUS struck down Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion after 50 years of precedent. In the months following the decision, the conservative supermajority quickly moved US law away from the political center. Multiple controversies erupted surrounding Justice Clarence Thomas, and public opinion balked at a blanket refusal to address questions about the justices’ ethical standard.
Has the Supreme Court become overly politicized? Can public faith be restored in a deeply partisan America? And what major rulings are still to come this session? Ian Bremmer talks with Yale Law School legal expert, New York Times Magazine columnist and co-host of the Slate’s Political Gabfest podcast, Emily Bazelon.
Tune into GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on public television stations nationwide. Check local listings.
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3 key Supreme Court decisions expected in June 2023
As the 2023-2023 Supreme Court session comes to a close, a flurry of major decisions are expected by the end of the month on the EPA, affirmative action, and student loan forgiveness. Emily Bazelon, Yale Law School Senior Research Fellow and host of Slate’s Political Gabfest podcast, stopped by GZERO World with Ian Bremmer to discuss some of the big cases argued before the court this term.
SCOTUS already issued a ruling in Sackett v. EPA, limiting the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to protect US wetlands and waterways. It’s the second ruling in a year where the justices significantly rolled back the federal government’s authority to regulate the environment.
“Millions of acres that have been regulated up till now won't be anymore,” Bazelon says, “And when you think about the record of the Clean Water Act for preserving and cleaning Americans’ waterways and rivers, now the EPA has a lot less reach to do that.
There are also two important cases in higher education––affirmative action and President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. Bazelon thinks that SCOTUS is ready to end race-based affirmative action in the US based on justices’ questioning in oral arguments. How the court will rule in the student loans case, however, is trickier to predict because loan forgiveness is somewhat tied to national emergency declaration for COVID, which ended in May.
For more on the Supreme Court and what to expect from anticipated rulings this year, tune into GZERO World with Ian Bremmer. Check local listings.
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- Senators want ethics rules for SCOTUS ›
- Podcast: An active US Supreme Court overturns "settled law" on abortion. What's next? ›
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