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After decades of vacillation, the Supreme Court of the United States has finally and firmly declared that the Constitution does not permit publicly funded universities to consider race, as such, in its admission processes. This is a decision that many, including this author, have been advocating since the 1970s, when my first law review article appeared, calling for affirmative action to be based on non-racial criteria and individual accomplishments.
The Supreme Court has been moving in this direction for some time now, but it has until now allowed loopholes the size of university football stadiums. These loopholes were exploited by universities to enforce quota systems whereby approximately the same percentage of minority applicants would be admitted every year.
The results of these quotas impacted most heavily on one of the most discriminated against groups in American history Asian Americans. The plaintiffs in the Harvard case were such Americans. It will be interesting to see how their numbers are affected by the decision.
Within two hours of the decision, Harvard released a statement and a video by its new president promising compliance, while also assuring a continued concern for diversity and other criteria which often serve as covers for racial quotas. It remains to be seen what Harvard and other schools believe constitutes compliance.
The majority decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, still allows for some consideration of race, so long as it is individualized. It permits universities to consider student essays that focus on an applicants race, so long as she or he relate their race to individual disadvantage, inspiration or other vague criteria. Harvard highlighted that part of the decision in its statement and will surely employ...