With a new decision from the Supreme Court, colleges nationwide can no longer consider a student’s race during the admissions process. After decades of affirmative action, universities are left to ask – what now?
Thursday's 6–3 ruling is expected to have sweeping implications for the admission process at many schools. However, the governing board that oversees South Dakota's public universities said it will have little impact in the state.
In a statement, South Dakota Board of Regents executive director Nathan Lukkes said the board is "committed to providing equal access to education for all students," regardless of their race or economic background.
"Our acceptance policy aligns with the Supreme Court's recent decision and ensures everyone can pursue post-secondary education in our state," Lukkes said. "Additionally, our six campuses offer Opportunity Centers, which welcome, support, and value every student."
NPR reports the ruling will mainly impact a few hundred schools with “highly selective” admissions like Harvard. But advocates are still concerned about the implications.
Samantha Chapman is an advocacy manager with the ACLU of South Dakota. She said they anticipated this ruling.
“It doesn’t make it any less devastating for students across America – here in South Dakota particularly our Native students," Chapman said. "The movement against affirmative action is part of a larger effort to rewrite our nation’s history and have this small group of people dictate what this country looks like and how we talk about who we are – from this ruling here about affirmative action to erasing the existence of LGBTQ and two spirit people on campus through acknowledgement of their pronouns.”
She said this ruling could open the door for similar situations
“I would assume that based on the same legal framework we could expect a similar result if a case came to the Supreme Court regarding corporate affirmative action practices,” Chapman said.
Chapman said the ACLU of South Dakota will battle any legal attempts to ban race-conscious admissions in the state, and that processes like these are an extension of a school’s academic freedom.
In response to the decision, President Joe Biden has directed the Department of Education to analyze practices to create more inclusive and diverse student bodies.