Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a prominent Democrat from New York, found herself at the center of a heated controversy on Thursday after sharing her perspective on the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding affirmative action. In a tweet, Ocasio-Cortez questioned the seriousness of the court’s “ludicrous ‘colorblindness’ claims” and suggested that if they were genuine, they would have abolished legacy admissions.
Ocasio-Cortez specifically highlighted the fact that 70% of Harvard’s legacy applicants are white and criticized the Supreme Court for not addressing this practice, which she believed would have affected both the institution and those benefiting from legacy admissions.
However, critics quickly pointed out that there was no case before the Supreme Court regarding legacy admissions in colleges and universities. They clarified that the Constitution prohibits racial discrimination, not privileges for relatives of alumni, making it a legal matter rather than a mere policy preference.
Some social media users highlighted that legacy admissions are not based on race but are instead a selection criteria that Ocasio-Cortez may personally disagree with. They contrasted legacy admissions with affirmative action, which explicitly uses race as a factor in the selection process.
Others criticized Ocasio-Cortez’s understanding of how the court operates and accused her of engaging in “whataboutism” by bringing up a topic that had not been raised in the context of the court’s ruling.
The discussion expanded to include comparisons between the percentage of white legacy applicants at Harvard and the overall white population in the United States. These comparisons were used to challenge Ocasio-Cortez’s claim that Harvard’s legacy admissions were racist.
Education Secretary Miquel Cardona joined the conversation during an interview, suggesting that legacy admission programs should be examined as they perpetuate privilege rather than create opportunities.
Republican Senator Tim Scott also called for an end to legacy-based admissions, emphasizing the importance of creating a culture where education is accessible to everyone and removing preferential treatment for legacy applicants.
In February, Representative Jamaal Bowman and Senator Jeff Merkley introduced the Fair College Admissions for Students Act, aiming to reform legacy and donor admissions practices to ensure equity in the admissions process at universities nationwide.