Supreme Court hears cases challenging affirmative action in college admissions

"The high court announced in January it would hear both cases involving affirmative action at the nation's oldest private and public universities."

"Harvard, too, warned in its brief that if affirmative action in admissions is outlawed, representation of Black and Hispanic students would decline "significantly.""

"On the symbolic side, meanwhile, he said that if the Supreme Court finds race-conscious admissions policies are unlawful, what it's saying is "everything was fair and square until affirmative action arrived, and affirmative action, that is the thing that is somehow corrupting a process that's actually just rewarding the best and brightest.""That's the somewhat dominant, but highly contested narrative that speaks to this broader debate we're having in America right now," he said."

"Alongside the Harvard dispute, Students for Fair Admissions was mounting its second court fight targeting affirmative action at the University of North Carolina."

""I would be absolutely shocked if the Supreme Court does not in one way or another eliminate affirmative action in higher education," said Jonathan Feingold, a law professor at Boston University who studies affirmative action."

"In the years since the high court last considered the legality of universities considering race as a factor in their admissions programs, the composition of the court has changed markedly, with the addition of three justices appointed by former President Donald Trump."

This is a negative sentiment.

"The Biden administration is backing the schools in both cases and argues that in addition to higher education institutions, including the service academies, other entities like the federal government and the U.S. military have come to rely on the Supreme Court's decisions recognizing that the educational benefits of diversity justify limited consideration of race in admissions."

This is a positive sentiment.