House Democrat blasts military academy exemption in Supreme Court affirmative action ruling
Misty Severi
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Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) slammed a Supreme Court decision on Thursday for exempting military academies from the ruling against affirmative action in college admissions.
Crow said the ruling was “outright grotesque” for implying that diversity should not matter except in the case of attending military academies. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of banning the consideration of race as part of admissions decisions at colleges in two separate cases on Thursday.
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“This decision is deeply upsetting but outright grotesque for exempting military academies,” Crow tweeted.
“The court is saying diversity shouldn’t matter, EXCEPT when deciding who can fight and die for our country—reinforcing the notion that these communities can sacrifice for America but not be full participants in every other way. Justice Jackson is right: ‘Deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.’”
https://twitter.com/RepJasonCrow/status/1674443284783964160
The high court ruled that Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did not support the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection. The Chapel Hill case saw a 6-3 verdict, while Harvard saw a 6-2 ruling after Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson recused herself over a conflict of interest with Harvard.
The majority opinion was penned by Chief Justice John Roberts, who claimed the colleges “lacked sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race.” However, Roberts put in a footnote that the military academies were not parties in either decision.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote a dissenting opinion, called out the majority’s exemption of military schools, noting that religious schools were also not part of the cases but were not exempted.
“To the extent the Court suggests national security interests are ‘distinct,’ those interests cannot explain the Court’s narrow exemption, as national security interests are also implicated at civilian universities,” Sotomayor wrote. “The Court’s carveout only highlights the arbitrariness of its decision and further proves that the Fourteenth Amendment does not categorically prohibit the use of race in college admissions.”
Harvard said it would comply with the Supreme Court’s decision, but the school teased that it may seek loopholes in the months ahead. The court did rule that discussing how race affected an applicant’s life on their application can be considered in the admissions process.
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“In the weeks and months ahead, drawing on the talent and expertise of our Harvard community, we will determine how to preserve, consistent with the Court’s new precedent, our essential values,” the school said.
Chapel Hill also said it would comply with the court’s decision in a statement. It said it would review the ruling and develop a game plan to make necessary changes that comply with the decision.