In this episode of The Daily, the impacts of the Supreme Court's ban on affirmative action are explored as the first post-ban class enters college. Elite schools like MIT and Amherst have seen sharp declines in Black and Hispanic enrollment, while others like Duke and Yale maintained previous levels.
While racial diversity has decreased at many institutions, economic diversity is rising, with some colleges potentially considering socioeconomic status as a proxy for race. The podcast delves into the challenges colleges face in maintaining racial diversity without explicitly factoring race into admissions. It also examines affirmative action's origins and intent to address inequities faced by Black Americans specifically.
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Elite colleges like MIT and Amherst have faced sharp drops in Black and Hispanic student enrollment in the year following the Supreme Court's ban on affirmative action. Sanger-Katz reports MIT's share of Black students plummeted from 15% to 5%, while Hispanic student representation fell from 16% to 11%. Similarly, Amherst saw its Black student percentage decline from 15% to 6%, and Hispanic student share drop from 12% to 8%.
However, the demographic shifts haven't been uniform. Schools like Duke, Yale, and Princeton did not experience decreases in their Black and Hispanic enrollment, suggesting nuances in how the ban has impacted different institutions. Moreover, categorization of multiracial students may magnify perceived declines across racial groups.
While racial diversity has declined at many colleges, economic diversity is increasing. UVA's share of Pell Grant recipients jumped from 16% to 24%, and Duke saw an increase from 17% to 22%. Sanger-Katz notes colleges may be considering socioeconomic factors more heavily, potentially using class as a proxy for race.
However, the wealth gap means economic diversity doesn't necessarily equate to racial diversity. Colleges could face legal challenges if perceived as using socioeconomic status to indirectly maintain racial targets.
Without being able to broadly consider race, colleges must evaluate applicants' individual circumstances. Sanger-Katz says colleges worry about lawsuits accusing them of considering race illicitly.
Colleges are shifting to more subjective assessments focused on personal experiences. Outreach to underrepresented communities and expanded financial aid are also strategies being used to indirectly boost diversity.
Barbaro and Sanger-Katz contextualize that affirmative action was originally intended to address centuries of oppression and exclusion faced by Black Americans specifically. The ban may exacerbate inequities the policy aimed to rectify.
While some colleges have seen rebounds in Black student enrollment, targeted approaches to achieving racial diversity remain legally uncertain.
1-Page Summary
In the first academic year following the Supreme Court's 2023 decision to ban race-based affirmative action, elite colleges are observing and reporting notable shifts in their student body demographics.
Elite institutions, like MIT, have experienced marked declines in the enrollment figures of certain minority groups. Specifically, MIT saw its share of Black students plummet from 15% to a mere 5%. Similarly, the representation of Hispanic students dropped from 16% to 11%. These statistics signal a considerable change from the diversity levels these colleges had maintained in prior years.
Amherst College also observed significant drops in minority representation. The share of Black students shrank from 15% down to 6%, while the Hispanic student percentage declined from 12% to 8%.
Contrasting these declines, some universities have managed to sustain their diversity numbers. Schools such as Duke, Yale, and Princeton did not report a decrease in their shares of Black and Hispanic students, showcasing that the response to the affirmative action ban is not universally distributed among all top-tier colleges.
Moreover, there are nuances in the reporting; some of these declines might ...
The immediate impacts of the affirmative action ban on college demographics
Recent trends indicate that while racial diversity has declined at many colleges, economic diversity is on the rise, with implications for socio-economic representation and the future of affirmative action policies.
Universities have reported notable increases in the economic diversity of their student bodies. For instance, the University of Virginia (UVA) saw the percentage of students receiving Pell Grants, which are awarded to students from the bottom half of the income distribution, jump from 16% to 24% over the last year. Similarly, at Duke University, there was an increase in Pell Grant recipients from 17% to 22%.
The reason for this shift may be that colleges are increasingly considering socioeconomic factors and life experiences during the admissions process, potentially using class as a proxy for race. This approach could create a more economically diverse class and, as an indirect result, lead to increased racial diversity.
However, this approach does not guarantee the maintenance of racial diversity. The wealth gap between racial groups in the U.S. means that economic affirmative action might not accurately capture racial diversity. For instance, the number of upper-income Black and Hispanic students has declined at institutions such as MIT, where lower-income students of various races are being admitted in place of upper-income minority student ...
The potential reasons for and implications of increased economic diversity
Colleges are facing new challenges in maintaining racial diversity due to limitations on how race can be considered in admissions following the affirmative action ban.
The Supreme Court's direction has resulted in colleges no longer being able to give broad "tips" to applicants based on race to boost the representation of underrepresented groups. Instead, they have to focus on evaluating applicants' individual experiences and circumstances, which could include but are not limited to race.
Colleges worry about potential lawsuits from conservative legal activists who are expected to closely monitor college admission data and may accuse colleges of taking race into account under the guise of evaluating individual experiences. Justice Kavanaugh mentioned the possibility of colleges considering if an applicant came from a family that had been enslaved, suggesting he may be open to such a policy.
Colleges are shifting to a more subjective admissions process where students are encouraged to discuss their personal experiences instead of checking a box for race. Admissions essays have become an important tool for surfacing stories of overcoming adversity that can, but do not exclusively, consider race.
Some schools are doing more outreach to underrepres ...
The challenges colleges face in trying to maintain racial diversity
Affirmative action has been a significant social policy developed to address the legacies of racial discrimination and inequality in the United States.
Launched under the Kennedy and Johnson administrations during the 1960s, affirmative action was designed to counteract centuries of oppression and exclusion predominantly faced by Black people. Although the program aimed to address racial injustice, it has been critiqued for not effectively tackling the economic disparities intertwined with racial inequity.
The prohibition of race-based affirmative action is anticipated to diminish racial diversity, thereby intensifying racial inequality in a country already struggling with profound racial disparities. The black share of students at the University of Virginia (UVA), for example, dropped from 11 percent to 9 percent after the affirmative action ban. Similarly, there was a notable decrease in Black student enrollment at the most selective University of California campuses, such as Berkeley and UCLA, following California’s ban on affirmative action.
Maintaining racial diversity at elite coll ...
The historical context and original purpose of affirmative action
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