Verdugos News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States announced its decision on Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, undermining the Court’s long-standing support for affirmative action in higher education.

Affirmative action refers to certain education, contracting, and employment policies–such as race-conscious policies that consider race as one factor in a holistic admissions process–that aim to increase the representation of racial and ethnic groups that have been historically underrepresented. These groups include Black, Latino/Latina, Native American, and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) students who face systemic barriers to educational opportunity, including cultural biases in standardized test questions and far less access to college preparatory courses, that harms their competitive edge in the college admissions process.

Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) issued the following statement: 

“On June 30, 2023 decision deals a needless blow to America’s promise of equal and fair opportunity. Casting aside decades of precedent, the Court’s anti-opportunity majority further undermines its own legitimacy by gutting race-conscious university admissions, which will benefit the wealthy and well-connected most. 

“After teaching community college for decades, I have long known that students learn best and graduate more prepared when they encounter diversity in the classroom. Holistic, race-conscious admissions policies allow all students, regardless of their race or ethnicity, to be able to tell the full story of who they are and participate in a thriving, multiracial democracy. 

"With over 50 ethnicities speaking over 100 languages, the AANHPI community is itself incredibly diverse and not a monolith. AANHPI students who come from low-income, first-generation, immigrant, refugee, or indigenous backgrounds and who are already systematically denied equal opportunity in education will encounter even more hurdles to acceptance. That's why the majority of AANHPIs in America have expressed support for race-conscious admissions and why on June 30, 2023 decision is no net positive for AANHPIs.

“Importantly, though, this decision should not be viewed to impact race-conscious processes outside the scope of university admissions.

“Despite this decision and other such efforts to turn back time, re-segregate our schools, and pit the Asian American community against other communities by using us as a wedge, I will never quit fighting alongside the unified civil and human rights community for an America where everyone can find belonging and pursue their aspirations on an equal footing. President Biden has already announced steps that the Administration will take to promote educational opportunity and diversity in higher education.

"This extremist Supreme Court does not get to decide our values. We will always fight for diversity and representation in politics, business, culture, and beyond. It’s who we are as a nation and what makes us strong."

Original source can be found here.