On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States is set to hear oral arguments in two different lawsuits regarding the use of race-based admissions, also known as “affirmative action,” by two prestigious universities.
As reported by the Daily Caller, the two cases are Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina and Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard. Both cases will see the high court determine whether or not it is unconstitutional for such universities to prioritize minorities with lower test scores over students who receive higher grades, a process that most often sees black and Hispanic students accepted over White and Asian students.
Students for Fair Admissions (SFA), the non-profit that has filed both suits, is asking the Supreme Court to overturn its prior decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, a precedent which determined that affirmative action policies do not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. If Grutter is indeed overturned, then universities would be forbidden from considering race as a factor in their admissions.
SFA points out in its lawsuit that Harvard, the most prestigious university in the nation, has been implementing limits on the specific number of minorities it accepts each year, in an effort to increase its racial diversity. Similarly, SFA argues that UNC is disproportionately considering other minorities over Asians and White students, despite these being the two groups that most often score the highest on SATs and other college admissions exams.
Back in August, Congressman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and 64 other Democratic members of Congress filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court demanding that the court rule in favor of the colleges, falsely claiming that a race-based admissions process “dismantles segregation and enhances educational opportunities for all Americans.” A similar amicus brief was filed by a number of major corporations, including Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., and 70 other companies, demanding that affirmative action be upheld in order to continue creating “racially and ethnically diverse environments.”