Supreme Court ENDS race-based affirmative action admissions

The Supreme Court has outlawed the consideration of race as a factor in college admissions. 

Justices earlier on Thursday decided that race-based affirmative action admissions are unconstitutional. 

The ruling ends a decades-old policy known ‘affirmative action’ that aims  designed to boost the number of black and Hispanic students.

The idea was to ensure minority groups are fairly represented among university student bodies.

The Supreme Court heard the case brought by a non-profit that argued race-based policies at Harvard University and University of North Carolina 

Lawyers brought two cases in the name of a non-profit, Students for Fair Admissions, who argued that they were disadvantaged by affirmative action.  

They sued the University of North Carolina and Harvard University alleging that race-based admissions are illegal.

In the Harvard case, professors were accused of discriminating against Asian American applicants to boost student numbers amongst other groups.

The students said the top North Carolina college’s race-based policy had violated the US Constitution’s 14 Amendment of ‘equal protection under the laws,’

Students from North Carolina held a demonstration in support of affirmative action when attorneys for both sides 

Johnathan Loc, a Harvard graduate, helped organize sit-ins backing race-based admissions

They also said it was illegal under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, a landmark piece of legislation first proposed by John F. Kennedy that sought to outlaw racial discrimination.  

It was born out of a anti-racist protest movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, the civil rights campaigner who was assassinated in 1968.

Data published on the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) shows a mixed picture when it comes to diversity in U.S. colleges nationwide.

In 2021, the last year for which figures are available, 60 percent of Asians between the ages of 18 and 24 were enrolled in college, compared to 38 percent of White people the same age. 

The figure is 37 percent for Black youths, 33 percent for Hispanics and as low as 28 percent for students who describe themselves as American Indians or Alaska Natives, according to NCES.

Nine states have already made it illegal for admissions professions to consider race in college applications.

They are Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington.