TASHJY: Race has become 'the factor' for admission to college, in many cases

Campus Reform Higher Ed Fellow Ken Tashjy recently joined Real America’s Voice to discuss the upcoming Supreme Court decision regarding the constitutionality of racial admissions standards in American colleges.

The Court is expected to issue a ruling on Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. University of North Carolina, the twin cases implicating the future of affirmative action, in June.

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“When the Court originally ruled [in 2003’s Grutter v. Bollinger] that race could be used as a factor of admissions to create diversity in higher ed, they were very clear that race should only be considered as one factor among many factors,” Tashjy began by explaining.

He then proceeded to observe that race has evolved in the intervening years from “a factor” in the admissions process to “in many cases, the factor.”

Host Terrance Bates then asked Tashjy what he saw has some of the “broader implications” for American higher education should SCOTUS come down against the constitutionality of affirmative action policies next month.

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Replying, Tashjy emphasized that such a ruling would “impact higher educational institutions across the country, both publics and privates.” He added, however, that despite such an impact, racial diversity likely wouldn’t be substantially affected at many American universities. 

”We’ve got nine states currently that have outlawed the use of race in admissions, and those [state colleges and universities] still boast very broad diversity rates, still maintain their academic competitiveness, through a series of race-neutral factors.”

Watch the full video here.