The U.S. Supreme Court Declares Affirmative Action Unconstitutional: Impact on University Admissions

The U.S. Supreme Court banned, in a decision made public on Thursday, “l’affirmative action“. Established by President Kennedy in 1961, it instituted the use of positive discrimination to guarantee the access of minorities to university.

The conservative majority Supreme Court American has once again made its voice heard. THE six republican magistratesagainst the advice of three Democratic magistratesfound unconstitutional theaffirmative action. The latter corresponds to the positive discrimination exercised in favor of minorities at the entrance to universities. Established by President Kennedy in 1961it authorized the taking into account of the skin color or the ethnic origin of the candidates in the selection process.

U.S. Supreme Court halts college affirmative action programs, another historic U-turn a year after its reversal on abortion #AFP pic.twitter.com/ZH9xQEsjCG

– Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) June 29, 2023

This decision was made public by the Supreme Court this Thursday, June 29 and will impact the entire United States. The highest American judicial body was called upon to rule after a complaint dating from 2014 and dealing with admissions to the University of Harvard and to that of North Carolina.

Positive discrimination unpopular in the United States

The Republican judges justified their decision by explaining that the students should be selected on merit. “The student should be considered on the basis of their experiences as an individual, and not on the basis of ethnic origin.“ thus wrote the President of the Supreme Court John Robert, as reported by the BBC. “Many universities have for too long done the exact opposite. In this way, they concluded that the touchstone of an individual’s identity was not the challenges faced, the skills acquired or the lessons learned but the color of their skin.” he added.

Opponents of this decision have for their part denounced the risks for social mobility in the United States.

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The use of positive discrimination remains unpopular in the United States. A recent survey of Pew Research Center indeed indicated that the half of americans is against positive discrimination whilea third of them is in favor of it. I’affirmative action has been banned since 1996 in California. In 2020, the referendum organized to restore it had been rejected in 57%.

2023-06-29 15:35:00


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