Supreme Court hears arguments challenging use of race in college admissions

The Supreme Court began proceeding arguments Monday successful 2 cases that situation the usage of race-based considerations to find who gets admitted to American colleges.

The arguments, which are expected to proceed for respective hours, stem from lawsuits against affirmative enactment successful admissions astatine Harvard University and the University of North Carolina.

"Racial classifications are wrong," the lawyer Patrick Strawbridge said successful his opening statement connected behalf of the radical Students for Fair Admissions.

"This tribunal has ever said that radical classifications are invidious," Strawbridge responded to Justice Clarence Thomas, a blimpish who asked astir defenders of affirmative enactment who accidental that taking contention into relationship tells thing astir the "whole person" seeking admittance to college.

Students for Fair Admissions is seeking to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling successful the lawsuit Grutter v. Bollinger, which successful 2003 recovered that colleges could see contention successful their admissions successful bid to person divers campuses.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted that the 14th Amendment, adopted aft the Civil War, took contention into relationship to assistance Black Americans get entree to parts of nine that were denied them during slavery.

"You're assuming that contention is the lone origin that gets idiosyncratic in," said Sotomayor, a wide justness referring to assemblage admissions.

Strawbridge aboriginal said that Asian applicants person been disadvantaged by affirmative enactment policies that person benefited Black applications, a origin which helium argued underscored the unfairness and unconstitutionality of those policies.

"Some races get a benefit, immoderate races bash not get a benefit," helium said.

Strawbridge said the usage of contention to find who gets into a assemblage is "inherently divisive."

Sotomayor challenged Strawbridge to travel up with immoderate illustration successful the tribunal grounds wherever an applicant had gotten into assemblage simply due to the fact that of their race.

She and different wide justices successful their questions argued that contention was but 1 of galore factors successful affecting however colleges find who gets admitted.

One of that justices, Ketanji Brown Jackson, said "They're looking astatine the afloat person, with each these characteristics."

Conservatives clasp a 6-3 super-majority connected the Supreme Court and are expected to beryllium unfastened to the arguments for ending affirmative action.

The cases being argued are Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard, lawsuit No. 20-1199, and Students for Fair Admissions v. the University of North Carolina, lawsuit No. 21-707.

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