Air Force Academy finds itself at center of affirmative action lawsuit
The Academy is ‘one of the last remaining universities to expressly consider race as a factor in admissions,’ the lawsuit noted.
‘Over the past few decades, the Air Force Academy and our other military academies have strayed from their former colorblind, merit-based admissions policies,’ SFFA’s president said.
A nonprofit that targets universities in lawsuits related to affirmative action recently sued the Air Force Academy in Colorado.
Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) issued the lawsuit on Wednesday in the District Court of Colorado.
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The lawsuit states that the Academy is “one of the last remaining universities to expressly consider race as a factor in admissions.”
The document concludes that the the Academy’s “use of racial classifications in admissions violates the Fifth Amendment,” and should thus be “declared unlawful.” The Fifth Amendment promotes the principle of equal protection, which defends Americans from government discrimination.
SFFA president Edward Blum said: “Over the past few decades, the Air Force Academy and our other military academies have strayed from their former colorblind, merit-based admissions policies and now focus on race and ethnicity—factors that do not contribute to the qualifications of applicants.”
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Other defendants named in the lawsuit are the Department of Defense, and numerous other related defense officials.
SFFA is responsible for starting the lawsuits that eventually led to the Supreme Court ending affirmative action in higher education admissions, although the court granted an exception to military schools, as the Washington Post noted.
Other military academies, however, have also been sued by the SFFA. The group has also sued the Military Academy at West Point and the Naval Academy, though the latter case was recently struck down by the Baltimore District Court, the Washington Post reported.
Campus Reform has reached out to SFFA for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
