On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases that focus on challenges to affirmative action rules at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. If successful, these cases might lead to the elimination of racial advantages in college admissions.
The non-profit organization Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) is the plaintiff in both instances, arguing that the school’s affirmative action practices are biased towards Asian Americans, who would otherwise make up a bigger percentage of the student population.
The Supreme Court allowed the use of affirmative action in college admissions to achieve diversity in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), but only if the program did not function like a quota system. Later cases brought against the University of Michigan in 2003 narrowed the scope of that ruling; Gratz invalidated an undergraduate policy that awarded bonus points to applicants based on race, while Grutter upheld a policy at the law school that took race into account but did not award bonus points.
The charges against Harvard and the University of North Carolina are being tried concurrently, despite the fact that Harvard is a private institution and UNC is public. When private organizations receive government funding, they are subject to the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Both cases include violations of constitutional rights, although the one against Harvard is more narrowly focused on civil rights statutes.
However, the lawsuit has brought attention to Harvard’s affirmative action policy and helped disclose that only about half as many Asian American students are admitted as would be expected based on test scores and grades alone. Harvard has prevailed in both the district court and the court of appeals. Using a “personality” test, Harvard was found to have discriminated against Asian Americans. After winning in district court, the University of North Carolina took its case straight to the Supreme Court to join the Harvard appeal.
Since Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is also a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers, she has decided to step aside from the Harvard case.
U.S. Supreme Court decisions No. 20-1199, Students for Fair Admission v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, and No. 21-707, Students for Fair Admission v. University of North Carolina, include similar arguments.