Making Sense of the Supreme Court Decisions
Rachel Weinreb, 2023 Summer Intern
Between June 29th and June 30th, 2023, there were three major Supreme Court rulings on: affirmative action, student debt relief, and LGBTQ rights. Since these decisions were made, I have felt every type of emotion: anger, disbelief, sadness, and generally not understanding what is happening. These decisions will affect everyone whether we realize it or not. Diversity and inclusion benefit everyone no matter what identities individuals hold. It allows for different perspectives, experiences, and ideas; all three of these rulings open the door to limit this from happening. As a queer graduate student, I will be impacted both in the classroom and in my personal life in the ways that I show up. Putting an end to affirmative action and denying student loan forgiveness will also have a lasting impact on who can receive a degree and will impact the future of higher education.
United States Supreme Court building at night
What is happening?
Students for Fair Admissions, Inc v. President and Fellows of Harvard College
In 2003, the Supreme court case Grutter v. Bollinger ruled that race could be considered a factor when admitting prospective students at colleges or universities in the United States. This decision was the beginning of affirmative action and allowed college admission teams to take student racial identities into consideration when looking at their application and considering other privileges and oppressions that come with the identities people hold.
On June 29, 2023 the Supreme court overturned the ruling of this case in a 6-3 decision, ending affirmative action for colleges and universities. Chief Justice Roberts states, “Every student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual - not on the basis of race.” This case specifically centers Harvard University and University of North Carolina; however, this ruling now sets the admission standards for schools across the U.S.
The Biden Administration proposed a student loan forgiveness plan for those who qualified under the HEROS (Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students) Act of 2003. As a part of this Act, the Secretary of Education is authorized to waive or modify requirements or regulations of student financial assistance programs for a number of reasons, including national emergency. During the Trump Administration, the President declared a national emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in a pause on the payment of student loans.
Fast forward to what is happening currently, the Biden Administration is planning on ending the pause on loan repayment and instead would offer $10k-$20k of loan forgiveness for those that qualified. The overall estimated cost was about $400 billion. This plan is set to benefit over 40 million Americans.
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court denied loan forgiveness by ruling that the President does not have the authority to make this decision and claimed that rewriting is different from waiving or modifying as is stated in the HEROS Act.
Lorie Smith who is a resident of Colorado and the owner of a graphic design business was thinking about expanding her services to designing wedding websites. Smith is also very vocal about her faith and being a devout Christian. Because of her beliefs, she was concerned that if she expanded to wedding websites, she would have to make a website for a same-sex couple and that would contradict what she believes God would want her to do. In 2016, she filed a lawsuit against the state of Colorado challenging the Colorado Anti Discrimination Act (CADA - forbids public businesses from refusing services based on sexual orientation) . She claimed CADA violated her free exercise and speech rights in the first amendment.
The case reached the Supreme Court, and on June 30th, the 6-3 decision ruled in favor of Smith and agreed that her free speech was violated. Businesses are now able to refuse business to same-sex couples.
What Does this Mean?
All three of these rulings pose a threat to inclusive and diverse college and university campuses and I’m sure will impact admission outcomes/decisions for the next academic year. The decision to end affirmative action, is taking steps backwards in making the college admission process more equitable. A college education is becoming more financially unattainable for a majority of Americans. Tuition rates continue to rise and the number of students that can afford to receive a degree without being buried in debt is decreasing. Additionally, we are already seeing the impact on the LGBTQ ruling, the owner of a hair salon in Michigan shared on social media that they will no longer serve trans and non-binary individuals. Ending affirmative action because the court believes identity should not be considered during the admissions process and then turning around the next day to allow for discrimination based on identity is confusing. When thinking about how these decisions will impact college campuses, specifically alternative break or community engagement programs, we have to consider who is being included in the programming and how to make programming more accessible. With the end of affirmative action, potentially more white students will be involved in these programs which may reinforce the white savior complex and may deter other students from getting involved.
Looking back at our theme for the ABCS this summer, Embodied Justice, our identities make us who we are and influence how we take up space, our ideas and perspectives, and our passions. When the whole person isn’t taken into consideration, we are missing out on valuable information about an individual and create injustice within institutions that perpetuate systems of oppression.
What Can be Done?
As a student, hearing all of these decisions being made makes me feel hopeless. Hearing the rulings and understanding the potential impacts have been overwhelming and I want to be more active and intentional as someone who is impacted. Here are some action items that we can take:
Vote!
If you are 18 years old or older and a citizen, it is essential to vote in both local and federal elections. It is important to review each candidate's platform and understand the potential impacts the candidate may have on people and communities you value. For example, part of the power that the president of the United States holds is to appoint supreme court justices. Since the justices themselves are not elected, it is essential to vote for a president who you believe would appoint a justice that aligns with your values. To learn more, Break Away has previous posts on Voting Resources and Voting 101.
Advocate and Reach Out to Your Representatives
While affirmative action has been overturned, there is a push to also look at legacy students and remove the standardized tests (SAT or ACT) as an admission requirement. The affirmative action case revealed donor and legacy applicants are six times more likely to be admitted and that 70% of those applicants are white. Additionally, standardized testing has shown to be both racist and classist. The exams are ‘norms-based’ and follow values of majority groups that are creating the exams. District and school funding has an impact on students' success on exams and those with access to more money, tutors, and time have higher scores.
On July 3, 2023, the NAACP launched the Diversity No Matter What pledge which outlines steps for college and university staff and faculty to create more inclusive campuses and includes ending legacy admissions and standardized testing. The NAACP created petitions for both their members and college administrators to sign.
Learn More and Don’t Let the Conversation End
Things are constantly changing and it’s important to stay up to date while also taking care of yourself and taking needed breaks from consuming news and media. While it may be difficult at times due to potential differences in opinion and with how fast society typically moves on to the next thing, it is important to keep these conversations active. By talking to friends, family, and your colleges or university staff and faculty about what is going on and how to keep working to move our campuses close to justice.
