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The United States Supreme Court began hearing arguments Monday to consider whether colleges and universities can continue to consider race in admissions processes.

The Supreme Court is hearing a pair of cases, one against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and one against Harvard University, that challenge race-conscious admissions programs. The plaintiff in both cases is the group Students for Fair Admissions.

Here’s what to know about affirmative action, the upcoming Supreme Court decision and affirmative action at Syracuse University.

What is affirmative action?

Affirmative action is the process of eliminating discrimination and remedying historical discrimination by considering applicants to jobs and education institutions without regard for race, creed, national origin and other factors.

Institutions that receive federal funds, like public universities and colleges, are required to follow federal affirmative action policies and report their affirmative action to the federal government.

Affirmative action at SU

SU is an equal-opportunity and affirmative action institution. These policies apply to the university’s admissions, employment, and access to university activities, programs and services.

On its university policies website, SU states that it follows the Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action guidelines that are established in federal code.

“In this regard the University will continue to strive to eliminate impermissible discrimination in all its forms, intentional or inadvertent,” according to the website.

SU’s former chancellor Nancy Cantor, who served from 2004 to 2013, worked to support the educational benefits of diversity on college campuses.

Before her time at SU, she was provost at the University of Michigan, where she worked to prepare for two Supreme Court cases in 2003 involving the university. In these cases, the Supreme Court ruled that the university’s point system used in admissions was unconstitutional, but that the overall consideration of race in college admissions was constitutional.

What is the Supreme Court case?

The case against UNC claims affirmative action violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states that higher education institutions that receive federal funding cannot discriminate against students based on race. The case against Harvard only claims violation of the equal protection clause, as Harvard is a private university that does not receive federal funding.

The group Students for Fair Admissions first filed lawsuits against both schools in 2014.

Lower courts previously upheld the affirmative action programs at both universities. The lower court of North Carolina found that UNC had a compelling reason to consider race for educational diversity.

SFFA is proposing that universities use “race-neutral” admissions policies instead of affirmative action to gather a diverse student body. These proposed programs include recruiting students from different socioeconomic backgrounds and eliminating preferences for applicants that are children of institutions’ alumni.

The Supreme Court has nine justices and currently has a conservative majority. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has recused herself from the case against Harvard because she is on their Board of Overseers. The justices are seen as likely to side with SFFA and strike down affirmative action.

The Supreme Court decisions for the SFFA v. UNC and SFFA v. Harvard are expected to come out in June 2023.

Published on November 1, 2022 at 1:57 am

Contact Stephanie: spwright@syr.edu