The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday.
I hope you took some time to read this week's web cover story on affirmative action and the deeply entrenched practices by elite schools that overwhelmingly boost rich white kids while systematically barring entry to low-income students of color. The details behind these pernicious practices—some of which were uncovered during the discovery process for Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard—are simply damning. But those details seem to be nowhere on the minds of the conservative judges of this Supreme Court. My colleague Pema Levy listened to the first day of arguments for SFFA v. Harvard and found the logic animating most of the conservative justices' remarks is that white people are the true victims of elite college admissions. Here's Pema: Justice Neil Gorsuch commented that Harvard's race conscious admissions program is a form of discrimination on the basis of race. Justice Samuel Alito analogized affirmative action to allowing students of one race to start five yards ahead of other students in a 100-yard dash. By this logic from the justices, white people are being victimized; schools like the University of North Carolina should stop trying to remedy their history of segregation and just admit more white people already.
Of course, none of this is helped by Harvard's insistence that it doesn't discriminate, when in fact, their long-held practices are inherently designed to help wealthy white students. So, when the Supreme Court eventually kills affirmative action, let it be clear that while many factors in American society are to blame, elite schools like Harvard also bear much of the responsibility for destroying this cherished precedent. —Inae Oh |
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The justices pondered bailing on affirmative action, campus diversity, and the goal of equality. |
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We need to raise $325,000 over the next month to help fund the hard-hitting journalism you get from us. It's a pivotal moment for our democracy, accountability, and so much more—but you already know that, you're reading Mother Jones. If you can right now, please support our work with a donation so we're ready for the hard work ahead. |
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It's a reminder of how far gone the GOP is. |
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