The Supreme Court has made two significant decisions that affect higher education
Ryan F. Smith, D.M.A. June 30, 2023 | Edited on July 6, 2023
In the last 48 hours, the Supreme Court has made two significant rulings that broadly affect higher education. One removes race as a factor for admissions, and the second strikes down Biden’s loan forgiveness program.
Yesterday, in a huge blow to proponents of affirmative action, the Supreme Court announced its ruling that both Harvard and the University of North Carolina have wrongly used race as a criteria for admissions. This important decision requires colleges to remove racial factors in their admissions process, and it will begin to restore meritocratic standards for college applicants.
According to Justice John Roberts, “Many universities have for too long wrongly concluded that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned, but the color of their skin. This Nation’s constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”
As a result of this ruling, college demographics may likely change in public institutions and private schools that receive federal funding. One hopes that this case will have far-reaching effects on policies in corporate America and government agencies to weaken practices that are, at their root, racially discriminatory.
Today, the Court struck down Biden’s loan forgiveness program. The Biden Administration invoked the the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act) to justify this policy, enraging the political right while currying favor with college students and recent graduates. Again, Roberts wrote the Court’s opinion: “The Secretary [of Education]’s plan canceled roughly $430 billion of federal student loan balances, completely erasing the debts of 20 million borrowers and lowering the median amount owed by the other 23 million from $29,400 to $13,600…. Six States sued, arguing that the HEROES Act does not authorize the loan cancellation plan. We agree.” This ruling requires students to take personal financial responsibility for their college education, or to forego it.
In both cases, five judges (Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, and Barrett) concurred with Roberts’ opinion, while three judges (Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson) dissented.
These two rulings both deal with cultural sins. The first one seeks to reverse systemic racism, which fundamentally is a failure to view and to love every person in God’s image. The latter undermines personal entitlement, the fruit of sloth and pride. While the law is incapable of changing anyone’s heart, we hope that these rulings will curb the flourishing of these two iniquities in the public sphere.
“While the law is incapable of changing anyone’s heart, we hope that these rulings will curb the flourishing of these two iniquities in the public sphere.“
New Aberdeen will not consider race in admissions, and we will not accept federal funding or loans. This week’s judicial decisions do not directly affect our policies, but they are worth heralding as positive changes in public higher education.
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