The US Supreme Court in its fresh judgement has barred the use of race in university admissions in the States. The apex court ruled out that universities can’t offer admissions to students based on their race or ethnicity. “The student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual — not on the basis of race,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, as reported by news agency AFP.
In the decision which came after years of aversion to affirmative norms that have strived for pushing diversity in school admissions, businesses, and government hiring, the justices broke six to three along conservative-liberal lines.
“While affirmative action was “well-intentioned and implemented in good faith,” it cannot last forever, and amounted to unconstitutional discrimination against others,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, in the ruling. “The student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual — not on the basis of race,” Roberts wrote.
The court further said that while universities were free to consider the background and experiences of applicants in weighing their application, considering primarily on the baiss if whether an applicant is White or Black is racial discrimination in itself. “Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice,” Roberts said.
In a stern refutation to the ruling, Justice Sonia Sotomayor accused the majority of being colorblind to the reality of “an endemically segregated society.” “Ignoring race will not equalize a society that is racially unequal,” she wrote.
Following the Supreme Court ruling, US President Joe Biden has responded to the decision with ‘disagreement.’ US President Joe Biden on Thursday said he “strongly” disagreed with the US Supreme Court ruling banning the use of race and ethnicity in university admission decisions. The ruling “walked away from decades of precedent,” he added.
Notably, some elite universities in the States like Harvard University, University of North Carolina (UNC) and some others, consider the race of candidates for admissions. The consideration stemmed from the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s with an aim to abolish discrimination against African Americans in university admissions.
However, members of the Conservative group have been arguing that the policy has overlived its cause owing to significant gains made by the Black people and other minorities. While the ruling comes as a setback for the republicans, conservatives have expressed joy over the decision.
Responding to the Supreme Court ruling, former President Donald Trump said: “This is a great day for America.” Kenny Xu, a member of the board of Students for Fair Admissions, an activist body that sued some of the elite US universities over the admission policies, said that the judgement will curb prejudice against Asian-American students. “They discriminate against Asians to make room for Black Americans,” he was reported as saying to CNN.
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