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Seniors are filling out applications and getting ready to attend college, but the ban of affirmative action might affect where they go.

Affirmative action, the use of race to make decisions in college admissions and employment, started in 1961 during the civil rights movement. It was signed into law by President Kennedy, who issued an executive order guiding federal contractors to “take affirmative action” to prevent discrimination against job applicants and employees on the basis of race or other factors.

However, over time, there have been different challenges issued about this ruling. In 2014, for example, a group called Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) sued Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for allegedly denying students because of race. Ultimately, on June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed the use of affirmative action in college admissions and declared it unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment. Going forward, universities can no longer use race when deciding whether or not to accept applicants.

AP U.S. Government and Politics teacher Mrs. Ward offered her perspective: “Affirmative action is meant to right previous wrongs. It’s not meant to give advantages to certain groups of people.” She explained how affirmative action guarantees equal opportunity, not equal outcome. Just because a specific person or group of people receives a boost to level the admissions playing field does not mean something is taken from another group or person, which Mrs. Ward identified as a common misconception about affirmative action. 

Since Rosary’s Class of 2024 is currently applying to college, the seniors are wondering how universities will compare them to other applicants without consideration of their ethnicities. Senior Valeria Avila commented, “I understand that most colleges have a race requirement and must keep a college relatively diverse. I personally think affirmative action is unfair to the majority of people. No one should have an advantage in college admissions just due to race. Of course, if I could get into a college based off being Hispanic, I would take advantage, but that doesn’t make it just. I believe whoever is more qualified for an acceptance should be admitted; acceptances shouldn’t be based on race.”

Some individuals, however, share a different opinion on the topic. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor stated in a panel discussion, “I am a product of affirmative action. I am the perfect affirmative action baby. I am Puerto Rican, born and raised in the south Bronx. My test scores were not comparable to my colleagues at Princeton and Yale. Not so far off that I wasn’t able to succeed at those institutions.”

In the wake of affirmative action’s end, some colleges are using other measures to consider qualified candidates. According to The Journalist’s Resource, a Harvard based news site offering summary on academic research, many schools are using “race-neutral alternatives” like giving preference to students with a lower socioeconomic status, expanding recruitment efforts, and taking into greater account students’ outside activities and “lived experiences” as well as the traditional measures of academic ability. 

Applying for college is certainly a stressful event, and keeping track of shifts in public policy can make it more daunting, but the Royals are staying the course, with many finalizing their applications for the October 1 and 15 early application deadlines.