Affirmative Action Could Soon Be Overturned As Supreme Court Takes Up Harvard And UNC Cases

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

69% : The concept of "affirmative action" to ensure racial diversity dates back to a 1965 executive order that told employers to "take affirmative action to ensure that equal opportunity is provided in all aspects of their employment."
58% : A Timeline of Key Supreme Court Cases on Affirmative Action (New York Times)
55% : Since then, the Supreme Court has repeatedly held up affirmative action policies in 2003 and 2016, though it struck down a "point system" at the University of Michigan that automatically gave applications from underrepresented racial minorities enough points to virtually guarantee admission.
53% : The Supreme Court then officially sanctioned affirmative action in college admissions in a 1978 ruling that found universities could constitutionally consider race as part of its admissions process, though it struck down schools using quota systems dedicating a certain number of enrollment places to students of a particular race.
52% : The U.S. Supreme Court will hear cases challenging Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC)'s affirmative action policies that take race into account for admissions, the court announced Monday, which could potentially overturn the decades-old practice of affirmative action and threaten gains in diversity at colleges and universities nationwide.
52% : The Supreme Court case that could end affirmative action, explained (Vox)
48% : While critics of affirmative action policies contend they discriminate against white and Asian American students, proponents say the practice is necessary for ensuring diversity both at universities and the workforce at large.
45% : The Supreme Court has repeatedly held up affirmative action in the past, but there are fears it will now be overturned given the court's 6-3 conservative majority.
41% : The Supreme Court's past rulings on affirmative action "sent a powerful signal that diversity is vital to preparing individuals to work and participate as citizens in our pluralistic democracy," Harvard wrote in its opposition to SFFA's complaint.
10% : Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have already ruled against affirmative action in the past, as has Chief Justice John Roberts, who once wrote, "It is a sordid business, this divvying us up by race."

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