Today’s Supreme Court decision around affirmative action in higher education is again dividing the country.
News 5 Evening Anchor Courtney Gousman spent Thursday talking to experts and leaders in our area to see what kind of impact the ruling may have on us here in Ohio.
The justices released a decision stating that race cannot be a factor in the college admission process.
Courtney talked to Case Western Reserve University Law Professor Atiba Ellis and asked him if he feels like this decision is overturning affirmative action as a whole.
“At the end of the day, I think this opinion has all but destroyed affirmative action in higher education," Ellis said. "The Supreme Court has completed what has been a decades-long project that it’s been engaged in, in sort of instituting color blindness as a constitutional principle.”
Dr. Michele Scott Taylor is the Chief Program officer for College Now, an organization that helps underprivileged students in Northeast Ohio, which are often People of Color, have better access to higher education by assisting with the application process.
“I think it’s ridiculous. The Supreme Court is upending years of precedent that has been set around providing access to particularly African Americans who have been underrepresented in higher education for many, many years due to our country’s systemic racism and oppression,” Scott Taylor said.
Scott told Courtney, for her, this decision is very disappointing but not surprising. She said it’s going to make it even harder for students of color to access institutions with more selective enrollment.
“The word diversity is going to mean something else than what a lot of us have been fighting for and wanting. We’re going to have to do a lot more to help level the playing field without institutions being a place where that could happen through affirmative action policies, ” Scott Taylor said.
Ellis said this decision has impacted his outlook on the U.S.
“Personally, I feel sad for my country today. As someone who’s benefited from affirmative action, who has had my race considered and my legacy considered, I think someone like me who doesn’t get that benefit is going to be hurt. That, personally, makes me feel like I’m not welcome in my country today, the way I was before today,” Ellis said.
Courtney also talked to State Senator Jerry Cirino, a Republican who represents Ohio’s 18th District, covering parts of Lake and Cuyahoga Counties.
“It takes what I think were views held by many people today instinctively that picking winners and losers based on race is inherently wrong,” Cirino said.
Among all the universities in Northeast Ohio, we found that Case Western Reserve University does consider race in its admission process.
The university released a statement today that reads in part:
“Case Western Reserve University will, of course, comply with the law. We also will remain steadfast in our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion…Moving forward, we will continue to improve access to a Case Western Reserve University education, especially for those who have been negatively impacted by systemic inequities.”
So is there a pathway to make our country's universities and colleges diverse without being able to consider race?
“I think it’s going to be extremely difficult to achieve diversity across racial and ethnic groups without being able to use a race-conscious approach as a factor in understanding who students are,” Ellis said.
News 5 also reached out to Ohio State University, which does consider race in its admission process. Officials told us they're reviewing the ruling and will make any necessary changes to its admissions policy to comply with the law.
Ellis told Courtney it will be incredibly difficult to maintain diverse campuses without being able to consider race in the application process.
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