Supreme Court Rules Against Affirmative Action

This Thursday, June 29th, the United States Supreme Court ruled that institutions of higher learning can no longer take race into consideration during admissions and hiring; this ruling rolls back decades of momentous progress. In chasing “equality”, the ruling abandons equity and leaves Black and Latino students in the dust. This ruling continues the attacks on diversity in education across America. Affirmative action has stood for over 50 years helping to ensure equity between people of different races and nationalities. Affirmative action as first laid out in executive orders 10925 and 11246 promotes the opportunities of oppressed peoples and increases access to education. This, however slightly, helps bridge the gap of inequity. While this measure is not a perfect one, it is certainly better than nothing at all. Striking down affirmative action will undoubtedly decimate Black and Latino enrollment, undoing years of progress with the strike of a gavel.

This ruling goes hand in hand with the numerous attacks on education that have been perpetrated nationwide. Assaults on diversity in schooling have been rampant, with full bans being passed in Florida and Texas. This decision by the Supreme Court continues these attacks and gives false legitimacy to the nationwide attacks. Through this decision, the Supreme Court demonstrates not only a desire to reverse what steps have been taken toward true equity, but an intention to stand behind the assailants of modern education.

Despite this ruling, Chief Justice Roberts added an exemption for military academies. Doing so shows that the Supreme Court majority thinks that though concrete measures shouldn’t be taken to make sure Black and Latino youth can go to college, they should be able to get sucked into the US military, with no holds barred. The ruling also leaves intact the ability for schools to consider legacy for admissions, ensuring that the same families - often wealthy, white families - will be the only ones who can get a leg up in college admissions and keep the universities and colleges for themselves.

SDS will not stand by and idly watch as the right of Black and Latino students to an education and self-betterment are stripped away by those who are so divorced from the lives of working-class people. SDS condemns without reservation this blatant attack on students and faculty of color and staunchly opposes all attacks on education nationwide