SCOTUS Halloween Hearing: Anti-Affirmative Action Cases Heard before the U.S. Supreme Court

By Naya Wiezel

WASHINGTON – Two cases challenging race-conscious admissions policies, or “affirmative action,” will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Halloween, Oct. 31.

The two cases, Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, are seeking to eliminate affirmative action practices in admission processes.

Students for Fair Admission (SFFA) is the group that is pushing for this elimination, and the ACLU of North Carolina and the ACLU of Massachusetts filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to allow universities to continue the practice of considering race in college decisions.

The ACLU argued an interest in diversity among the student body furthers the values of academic freedom and equal protection. This was in support of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, and the ACLU believes the Supreme Court should uphold universities’ rights to consider race as part of the admission process.

The Director of the ACLU Racial Justice Program, ReNika Moore, said, “Race-conscious admissions practices help create a diverse student body that benefits the educational experiences of all students.”

Additionally, the Director of the Racial Justice Program at the ACLU of Massachusetts, Traci Griffith, reaffirmed student body diversity is an essential aspect of the educational function, and the Supreme Court must so recognize.

Chantal Stevens, an executive director of the ACLU of North Carolina, argued, “Diversity plays a significant role in the growth, development, and support of student success in higher education and beyond. The more diverse and cross-cultural exposure a student experiences throughout college, the likelihood increases for that student to become an open-minded, tolerant, and thoughtful member of society.

Stevens added, “Additionally, race-conscious admissions help to redress practices rooted in North Carolina’s legacy of white supremacy and battles for integration across the state’s university system and will ensure students of all ethnicities have equitable access to post-secondary education.”