Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard on Affirmative Action

In Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023) the Court struck down race-based admissions preferences employed by Harvard College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Writing for himself and Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, Chief Justice Roberts declared that such policies stood for the proposition “that there is an inherent benefit in race qua race—in race for race’s sake.” Id. at 220. That perpetuated a “pernicious stereotype” inconsistent with precedents that allowed the limited use of race when it promoted the “educational benefits” associated with a “diverse” learning environment. Id. at 209. Institutions may now only consider “how race affected [an applicant’s] life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.” Id. at 230. But it must be an individual assessment focusing on “that student’s unique ability to contribute to the university… treat[ing her or him]… as an individual—not on the basis of race.” Id. at 230–31.