The Supreme Court will be hearing two separate cases today challenging race-related admission policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC), citing discrimination in enrollment.
The Court is considering an overhaul of race-based admissions policies, also called ‘affirmative action’. According to universities and business groups, the move would make the country’s most elite institutions and workplaces less diverse.
On the other hand, those against affirmative action argue that Harvard and UNC are violating civil rights laws by neglecting white and Asian-American students.
Going by the numbers
When the practice ended in California, the state saw a decline of nearly 50% in minority enrollment in elite universities. The University of Oklahoma saw the enrollment of Indigenous freshmen fall by 11% in one year. Oklahoma has one of the largest Native American populations.