Students have mixed reaction to Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action in school admissions

Ashli Lincoln
·2 min read

Students in Georgia’s colleges and universities have had mixed reactions to Thursday’s ruling by the US Supreme Court saying affirmative action policies at a pair of universities violate the Fourteenth Amendment, prompting the nation’s highest court to restrict the use of race in the college admissions process.

In a 6-3 decision, the court struck down policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina that gave preference to some applicants based on their race.

Channel 2′s Ashli Lincoln found that some students who are represented in smaller groups like African Americans say the decision will only allow this number to decrease.

But others in larger represented populations, like the Asian community, feel their race makes it more difficult to get into colleges.

Nia Thompson, who attends Georgia Tech where 7.6% of the student body is African American, is studying aerospace engineering.

“I do find community with people who look like me,” Thompson said.

She told Lincoln that the Supreme Court’s decision is disheartening.

“It’s already a fairly small population of Black people at this school, so knowing that getting rid of it, it could get smaller, is a bit frightening to me,” Thompson said.

But not all college students feel the same way.

Brown University student Alex Shay said he agrees with the court’s decision.

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“Race doesn’t affect everyone the same way,” Shay said. “Under this new system, we get to view students for who they are, as individuals, and I think that’s a much better way to go forward on this topic.”

Shay said he doesn’t want admissions officers to consider his race.

“As an Asian American, I’m not exactly sure how that works for me because it’s much more difficult for Asian Americans to gain admittance to schools than white students,” Shay said.

Lincoln also spoke with several HBCU presidents on Thursday about the ruling. Dr. William Boone with Clark Atlanta University said this could have a direct impact on HBCUs.

“Anything that tries to say that no longer exist is a problem,” Boone said. “Should HBCUs be concerned? They should always be concerned whenever a court moves in a way that attempts to downplay the racialized nature of America’s society.”

And while the Supreme Court ruling address affirmative action regarding school admissions, Boone said many HBCUs received funding through affirmative action-based programs and some HBCUs use supplemental applications that speak to an applicant’s background.

Both are practices that can now be challenged with this ruling.

“So, the history of the 14th Amendment is being used in a rather corrupt way, that I would argue,” Boone said.

Spelman College’s president Helene Gayle sent a statement, saying:

“We are deeply disappointed by the United States Supreme Court’s decision today to strike down affirmative action, which allowed colleges to consider race as a factor in their admissions policies. This ruling reverses generations of progress that opened the doors for Black and brown communities to have equal access to higher education at institutions of their choice. It also goes against the growing diversity of our nation and the importance of diversity for our democracy.

“The impact of the Court’s decision does not end with college campuses. There are far-reaching implications that will also affect diversity across all sectors of our society. I look forward to working with my colleagues across HBCUs and MSIs to continue our legacies of providing access to quality education to Black and brown students.

“We are reviewing the Supreme Court’s decision to determine the impact on our College.”

We need to point out that the University System of Georgia does not use race as a determining factor at all 26 public colleges and universities, and hasn’t for more than 20 years.

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