UNC to pay Students for Fair Admissions $4.8 million after pivotal SCOTUS affirmative action decision
The University of North Carolina will pay Students for Fair Admissions after losing its affirmative action case at the Supreme Court.
The University of North Carolina agreed to pay Students for Fair Admissions a whopping $4.8 million after losing its affirmative action case at the Supreme Court.
Reuters obtained the the figure in response to a public records request that sought information regarding how much in legal fees the University of North Carolina agreed to pay to Students for Fair Admissions following the reversal of affirmative action in higher education in June.
The university agreed to pay $3.9 million for legal fees and $900,000 in expenses to Students for Fair Admissions, according to the records.
Edward Blum, founder of Students for Fair Admissions, told Reuters that Harvard University and UNC spend tens of millions of dollars in defending themselves against lawsuits filed by the organization.
According to the report, Students for Fair Admissions also sought a similar payment from Harvard.
The U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 against UNC and 6-2 against Harvard.
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Chief Justice John Roberts issued the majority opinion, stating that students “must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual not on the basis of race. Many universities have for too long done just the opposite. And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”
