Weekly Briefing: Race-Conscious Admissions Meets the Supreme Court

This week, the justices heard arguments about a practice that has long been a part of selecting college classes. ADVERTISEMENT [Weekly Briefing Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. What will happen to race-conscious admissions? Were you listening to the U.S. Supreme Court hearings on Monday? If you didn’t have nearly five hours to spare, don’t worry; our reporters were there. (The image above is from outside the court during the hearings.) The justices heard oral arguments for two cases — one against Harvard College and another against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — that challenged the institutions’ use of race in admissions decisions. Students for Fair Admissions, the group challenging Harvard and UNC, wants the court to end the practice, and many legal observers say the conservative court may do just that. Though the arguments included many remarkable moments, the key exchanges centered on conservative justices asking lawyers when colleges would stop considering race. Those justices returned to the [2003]( opinion]( by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in Grutter v. Bollinger, the case of a white law student denied admission to the University of Michigan Law School. O’Connor’s opinion affirmed the law school’s ability to consider applicants’ race when deciding whom to admit, but she wrote that “race-conscious admissions policies must be limited in time.” The court expected that “25 years from now,” race-conscious admissions wouldn’t be needed, Justice O’Connor wrote. Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked Ryan Y. Park, solicitor general for the State of North Carolina who argued on behalf of UNC, when the consideration of race in admissions would end. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. asked a similar question. Both justices seemed frustrated when the colleges’ lawyers did not say an exact date when the institutions would stop giving some applicants a “plus” because of their race. U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar, who spoke for the Justice Department on behalf of the colleges, said that Justice O’Connor didn’t mean she wanted an exact sunset date for race-conscious admissions policies. “I just don’t think it’s a tenable way to read Grutter to say that the court was suggesting that 25 years from now, poof, the interest in diversity in higher education is no longer compelling,” Prelogar said. One of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s questions focused on what colleges will do if race-conscious admissions policies go away. He asked Patrick Strawbridge, a lawyer for SFFA, about what could count as race-neutral and presented a hypothetical policy that gave a plus to descendants of enslaved people. Strawbridge said that the plan seemed like a “proxy for race” and would most likely not be considered race neutral. Kavanaugh’s other hypothetical asked Strawbridge about a college program that gave children of immigrants a plus. Strawbridge said that may be OK if it was applied to all immigrants. [For all the key moments, read our Nell Gluckman and Eric Hoover’s full report here.]( And if you want to know more about the Grutter case, and others that set the legal precedent for race-conscious admissions at colleges, sign up for my [new, limited-run newsletter here.]( For this newsletter, I leaned on The Chronicle’s archives to explain the practice’s history and how this debate has evolved. I thought I understood this subject until I read our past reporting. I learned so much putting this together. I hope you will too. ADVERTISEMENT Lagniappe. - Learn. We’ve got another niche-professional-sport cheating allegation on our hands. This time [it’s cornhole](. The accusation? Some players may have used illegally sized bean bags. (The Wall Street Journal) - Read. In 2016, a 10-year-old girl was admitted to a Florida children’s hospital for a mysterious pain. The director of the child-protection team suspected a case of child abuse. [What happened next]( how complicated these matters can get, especially in a state where the child-welfare system is privatized. (New York) - Listen. I’ve written this before, but it’s worth repeating. I love the radio. When DJs pick out, say, an hour’s worth of tunes, it’s much more valuable to me than a streaming algorithm. [This series]( NTS Radio focuses on the women of British reggae. After just one episode, my ears and my world were expanded. (NTS Radio) P.S. — If you also love the radio, send me a station or program to listen to. I’m usually tuned in to [my local NPR station]( and [WWOZ]( an independent station out of New Orleans. Email me: fernanda@chronicle.com —Fernanda REGISTER NOW [Join us January 9-27]( for a virtual professional development program on overcoming the challenges of the department chair role and creating a strategic vision for individual and departmental growth. [Reserve your spot]( before November 4 and use code EARLYBIRD2023 to save $200. Chronicle Top Reads THE REVIEW | OPINION [Does It Matter if Our Universities Look Like America?]( By Marvin Krislov [STORY IMAGE]( A key player in the 2003 Grutter case takes stock of Monday’s Supreme Court arguments. CAMPUS HOUSING [‘Dormzilla’ Gets a Little Less Monstrous]( By Katherine Mangan [STORY IMAGE]( The University of California at Santa Barbara’s massive dormitory project, criticized for its windowless rooms, will shed two floors — and arrive later than expected. ADVICE [What Faculty of Color Need to Know About a Tenure-Track Career]( By Elwood Watson [STORY IMAGE]( How you cope with the morass of academic politics will be different depending on the person, the department, and the institution. ADVERTISEMENT FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [Building a Faculty That Flourishes]( [Building a Faculty That Flourishes]( Colleges and universities cannot be successful without vibrant and engaged faculties. Now is the time to figure out sustainable ways to recruit, support, and diversify the faculty. [Order your copy today.]( NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK [Please let us know what you thought of today's newsletter in this three-question survey](. This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2022 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037