UNC sees slightly less diverse class composition in wake of SCOTUS affirmative action ruling
It was just over a year ago that the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in against the continued use of race-based affirmative action in college admissions decisions, and the impact of that ruling are now starting to materialize.
According to NC Newsline, the latest incoming class at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill does not feature as much descriptive diversity as prior classes, an outcome that is being attributed to the high court's 2023 ruling and the justices tapped for the panel by former President Donald Trump.
Class composition shift observed
The latest enrollment figures released by the school revealed that there has been a rise in first-year and transfer students classified as white or Asian.
Compared to the prior year, the percentage change seen was an increase from 88.5% last year to 89.6% this fall.
The percentage change with regard to students identifying as Black, Hispanic, or Native American was of a downward nature, going from 22.9% to 19 % this year, with overall totals exceeding 100% due to the existence of some students who identify as members of more than one of the above groups.
Whether the numbers are the start of a more sizable adjustment or will settle in this range is still unclear, according to university officials.
“It's too soon to see trends with just one year of data. We are committed to following the new law. We are also committed to making sure students in all 100 counties from every population in our growing state feel encouraged to apply, have confidence in our affordability and know this is a place they feel welcome and can succeed,” said Rachelle Feldman, UNC vice provost for enrollment.
SCOTUS strikes it down
As Fox News reported at the time, the nation's highest court last summer issued a landmark ruling on the controversial practice of race-based affirmative action in college admissions, declaring its continued use to be a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution's 14th Amendment.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts explained that “A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student's courage and determination. Or a benefit to a student whose heritage or culture motivated him or her to assume a leadership role or attain a particular goal must be tied to that student unique ability to contribute to the university.”
“In other words,” Roberts wrote, “the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual – not on the basis of race.”
The opinion, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, added, “Many universities have for too long done just the opposite. And in doing so, they have concluded wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual's identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin.”
“Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice,” the opinion read, and though the ruling may yield a realignment of sorts in terms of class composition as has already been seen to some degree at UNC and elsewhere, that is precisely what the principles of fairness and equality demand.
