Reporting & Writing

Almost sixty years ago: race, ethnicity, and sex became a consideration in college admissions. This factor, also known as affirmative action, has recently been countered by the Supreme Court for its unconstitutionality.  In a 6-3 decision, the Justices ruled that some colleges do not extend their admission policies to all.

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The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 have been the weapons of this debate, which proved that colleges that used affirmative action treated their students unequally. Universities such as Harvard and North Carolina have been centered in the Supreme Court's decision, and the admissions criteria for both schools were placed on the very first pages of the formal opinion. Students for Fair Admissions, a nonprofit organization made to advocate for equal college admission, secured their lawsuit. 

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Chief Justice John Roberts said that for far too long, universities “have conducted, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity if not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned, but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”

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 However, Florida Appeals’ appellate attorney Robert Scavone Jr. claims that the case can be viewed differently. “To say that the Constitution is a race-neutral document is just absurd,” he said. “It was drafted by white property-owning men. [The Constitution] contained a 3/5 clause. It protected slavery. So to say that it's a colorblind document is really disingenuous.” Scavone Jr. has covered this topic on his podcast, Summarily, where he often discusses diversity in businesses. 

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For many, this decision is heart-wrenching. A high school rising senior in South Florida, Anaya Andre, feels that this decision will deteriorate her chances of getting admitted to a top university. “Why did they have to take it away from us? The only advantage we had,” she said. “Yet legacy students still have the extra help… This is a major setback.” Anaya is a 4.0 student and owns “Promote Her Period.” a nonprofit organization that spreads menstrual awareness to her peers.

Yet, she still trembles at the thought of this fall when she will be applying to colleges. 

   

Stanford University graduate and OB/GYN Dr. Afua Nyanin graduated from a California high school in 2001 as valedictorian while an immigrant from Ghana. Affirmative action was banned in public universities in the state of California in 1998. However, going to a private university, she still felt that she was highly represented amongst the student body. Dr. Nyanin valued her time at Stanford and recollected her favorite memories. 

It turns out her favorite memories were because of diversity. At Stanford, housing was comprised of different cultures. Only 50% of the same culture was accepted into each house, while the other 50% consisted of different cultures. Dr. Nyanin was selected to be in the Asian-American house, and she did not regret one second of it. “I benefitted from the diversity. I'm a physician now, and I think it improved my compassion and ability to relate to people and care for them,” she said. 

 

   “That's the American dream. The dream is that you can be anything you want to be. And I think that affirmative action just expanded opportunities for other people.” Dr. Nyanin was also president of the Stanford African Student Association, where she was exposed to various African cultures. 

 

On the other hand, there are some who feel that this decision was much needed. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 52% of Asian Americans disagree with affirmative action, as well as almost 60% of white individuals feel the same. Asians are being held as the minority mask for this debate, and Asian students are coming forward with their merits that were rejected by top universities. Jon Wang, a former high school student from Melbourne, Florida, scored a 1590 SAT score and maintained a stellar grade point average. However, he was denied admission to every Ivy League school. While some claim that this is due to affirmative action, the cause remains unknown. In an interview with Fox News, Wang claims, “Edward Blum [of SFFA] told me my results. They said I had a 20% chance of getting admission to Harvard as an Asian American and then a 95% chance as an African American,” he said. “It [SFFA] was an opportunity to fight for what is right.” Now, Wang served as a plaintiff in SFFA v. Harvard. 

 

Although race may be removed from college applications in the future, Harvard University’s President Claudine Gay infers that this is certainly not the end of diverse admissions. Gay encourages students to discuss racial adversity and discrimination in their personal statements. “Our commitment to that work remains steadfast,” she said. “It’s essential to who we are and the mission we are here to advance.”

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Soon to be published in the University of Miami Newspaper.