The Supreme Court deemed race-conscious admissions in universities unconstitutional June 29, in a 6-3 decision in cases regarding UNC and Harvard admissions. This news leaves NC State and the greater UNC System to grapple with how diversity can be promoted in admissions going forward.

Affirmative action emerged during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s as a means to combat racial discrimination and promote equal opportunities for underrepresented groups. It involves considering factors such as race and ethnicity in college admissions or hiring processes to increase diversity. Supporters say that it addresses systematic inequalities, while critics say it perpetuates reverse discrimination and undermines merit-based principles.

NC State released a statement in response to the Supreme Court decision on affirmative action June 29. 

“The Court’s decision is complex, and NC State, along with the UNC System, is currently reviewing the ruling and its potential impacts,” said the University, in part, in the statement.

Steven Greene, professor of political science, said he believes NC State and most other colleges across the country will not feel the effects of this ruling as strongly as elite universities with more selective admissions policies. He said much of the outrage against the ruling could be attributed to the fact that many mainstream journalists and political figures graduated from the elite schools which will be most affected. 

“Most universities let in most of the students who apply around this country, and this doesn’t affect them,” Greene said. “It’s an important policy. It certainly affects students, we know for sure at UNC, at Harvard, my guess is to some degree at NC State, which is moderately selective. … The truth is, your average college graduate in America went to a place like UNC-Charlotte or East Carolina where most people who applied got in, and race just wasn’t a big factor in that.”

Greene said while he thinks affirmative action is important, the potential impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling might be overstated. He said the true concern lies in future representation and diversity at elite universities, rather than the overall accessibility of college education. 

“Nobody’s not going to college because of this,” Greene said. “Are there some people who will now go to UNC Charlotte instead of UNC-Chapel Hill? Most likely, and there’s an interesting discussion about where the future leaders come from, but I think people kind of overplay just what the impact might be.”

Amanda Edwards, teaching associate professor of political science, said racial diversity in elite schools is important in determining the future leadership of the country. She said in their oral arguments, Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas both claimed to have benefited from affirmative action.

“It’s this whole nuanced thing of if they don’t get access to the elite universities, then what is our future leadership?” Edwards said. “That’s where our future leaders come from, mostly. We know that just the Supreme Court, for example — very few don’t come from Harvard or Yale.”

Edwards said it’s important to note Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that race can still be included in college admissions as a part of a larger profile. 

“It’s not that they’re saying race can’t be considered,” Edwards said. “They just don’t want it to be this outright policy. … So you see where this might go is, ‘How do we find ways to diversify that don’t necessarily do it based on race?’”

Greene said affirmative action often extends beyond the descendants of enslaved African Americans, rewarding students from immigrant families based on race, rather than intergenerational factors. He said he thinks the primary focus should be on individuals who have faced adversity, such as those who overcame intergenerational poverty and racism.

Greene said admissions that consider socioeconomic factors, such as whether students live in areas of concentrated poverty, are a productive method of promoting diversity and equity in universities. 

“The reality is that there are all sorts of ways that can keep universities diverse and not specifically do it around saying, ‘You get extra credit, essentially, because you’re Black or Hispanic,’” Greene said.

NC State’s June 29 statement in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action is below:

“The U.S. Supreme Court today made a landmark ruling regarding affirmative action in higher education. The Court’s decision is complex, and NC State, along with the UNC System, is currently reviewing the ruling and its potential impacts. NC State will of course follow the law.

“NC State has every intention of continuing our critical public land-grant university tradition of admitting and serving talented and ambitious students from across North Carolina and beyond. We remain committed to providing the opportunity of a transformative NC State education to future leaders from all backgrounds, experiences and interests.”