Should colleges and universities be taking a prospective student’s race into account when judging the worthiness of applications? Or should they cull their lists of prospects based solely on other hard educational data?
That’s one of the questions that will be argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court this fall.
And while the recent overturning of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision proved that the national temperature on any given topic is not necessarily considered when rendering judgments, it does appear that the current majority opinion in the nation lies on the side of meritocracy.
In a poll conducted by CRC Research, 59% of respondents said they disapprove of race or ethnicity holding any weight in the college admissions process.
Concurrently, 58% said college admissions should be based on credentials, test scores and other qualifications.
In fact, only 29% said they approve of taking race and ethnicity into account, with 12% saying they were unsure.
The court will actually hear two separate affirmative action lawsuits, both brought by Students for Fair Admissions, targeting ending the use of race in determining college admissions.
The group has brought suits against both Harvard University and the University of North Carolina and argue that, by using race, those universities discriminated against Asian Americans.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has recused herself from the Harvard case due to her history of service on the school’s Board of Overseers, but will available to rule on the UNC case.
Oral arguments in both cases begin on October 31.
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