Last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College did away with affirmative action in higher education, and as could be predicted university student papers didn’t handle it well.
In an amazing display of progressive uni-mind mentality, the papers’ headlines, articles and op-eds overwhelmingly criticized the decision.
These are, of course, at odds with American public opinion.
For example, the Columbia Daily Spectator notes how President Lee Bollinger, a defendant in the last SCOTUS affirmative action case (which upheld the practice) lamented the ruling: “[W]e are in really new territory in how to address what is really a terrible past and ongoing present.”
Also at the Spectator: “[Barnard College President Laura] Rosenbury reaffirms commitment to diversity after affirmative action falls.”
At Harvard, which had “vow[ed] to continue to use race in admissions decisions,” we read the following in The Crimson:
— ‘A Gut Punch’: Harvard Students Condemn Supreme Court Decision Striking Down Affirmative Action
— Protesters Rally in Washington After Supreme Court Ends Affirmative Action
— A ‘Huge Blow’: Harvard Faculty Dismayed With Affirmative Action Ruling
— ‘Not a Normal Court’: Biden, Mass. Leaders Condemn Supreme Court After Anti-Affirmative Action Decision
— Ivy League, Other Peer Schools Pledge to Uphold Diversity While Complying With Supreme Court Ruling
— The Path Forward: Empowering Black Students at Harvard Post-Affirmative Action
The Crimson does have one article about the “celebrating” victors in the case, to be fair.
Over at The Daily Princetonian we see:
— Reactions: Faculty and alumni criticize Supreme Court affirmative action decisions
— Colorblind meritocracy is untenable in a country that never cared about equality
— Among Princeton students, affirmative action generally popular
We read in the Daily Trojan that the “future of USC admissions remains unclear” in the wake of the A.A. ruling.
Chancellor Andrew Martin of Washington University in St. Louis said in response to the decision that diversity remains a “foundational priority,” according to Student Life.
MORE: GWU student paper apologizes for ‘harmful’ debate question on transgenderism
The University of Virginia is “evaluating how the court’s decision will affect its admission policies” according to The Cavalier Daily. President Jim Ryan said in a statement that UVA will “continue to do everything within [its] legal authority to recruit and admit a class of students who are diverse across every possible dimension and to make every student feel welcome and included …”
An Emory Wheel headline reads “‘I am deeply concerned’: Emory president responds to Supreme Court affirmative action decision.”
DePaul University President Robert Manuel said he was “disappointed” by the decision and “reaffirm[ed] DePaul’s steadfast commitment to serving the diversity in our world and creating a vibrant educational experience for all people,” The DePaulia reports.
Similarly, University of Maryland President Darryll Pines said “needless to say, this decision is disappointing” and added UMD “will move forward with a bolstered commitment and a singular voice,” according to The Diamondback.
The Michigan Daily reports that U. Michigan President Santa Ono was “deeply disheartened” by the decision, even though UM hasn’t legally been able to use affirmative action for the last 17 years due to a state referendum.
Penn State’s Luke Vargas, writing in the Daily Collegian, said the high court’s “‘colorblind’ stance on affirmative action will fail future generations.”
At nearby Villanova University, The Villanovan reports the campus Center for Access, Success, and Achievement said the reversal of affirmative action “is the ultimate denial of every student and their parents, who strive to attain a decent education.”
The Villanova Student Government Association added it was “deeply disappointed” and said the ruling “does not represent the contributions generations of students of color have brought to universities.”
Lastly, Rutgers’ The Daily Targum somehow managed to find only students who disagreed with the SCOTUS decision: “Affirmative action matters because it validates the experiences that Black, Latinx and Indigenous people have endured in this country for centuries,” one student said.
MORE: UVA student paper demands removal of all things Thomas Jefferson
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