{"id":58771,"date":"2023-07-10T14:46:06","date_gmt":"2023-07-10T21:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=58771"},"modified":"2023-07-14T13:52:12","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T20:52:12","slug":"lawyers-who-defended-affirmative-action-say-fight-isnt-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=58771","title":{"rendered":"Lawyers Who Defended Affirmative Action Say Fight Isn\u2019t Over"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By<\/span>Peter White<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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They argue the decision is likely to widen existing inequities in higher education and that proponents of Affirmative Action need to find new ways to ensure diversity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"SCOTUS<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Supreme Court\u2019s decision in late June overturning 45 years of precedent that allowed for the consideration of race in college admissions is a big setback for all communities of color.<\/p>\n

That is the consensus among advocates of Affirmative Action who say the ruling will widen already glaring inequalities.<\/p>\n

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@ethnicmediaservices<\/a>Representative Judy Chu, of California\u2019s 28th Congressional District and Chair Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, says Asians Americans were unfairly used to divide communities of color on the issue of affirmative action, and discusses how their views on and experiences with affirmative action were misrepresented. https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/education\/lawyers-who-defended-affirmative-action-say-fight-isnt-over\/\u00a0#representativejudychu<\/a>\u00a0#repjudychu<\/a>\u00a0#congresswoman<\/a>\u00a0#californiarepresentatives<\/a>\u00a0#chineseamerican<\/a>\u00a0#affirmativeaction<\/a>\u00a0#race<\/a>\u00a0#highereducation<\/a>\u00a0#college<\/a>\u00a0#collegeadmissions<\/a>\u00a0#racism<\/a>\u00a0#university<\/a>\u00a0#discrimination<\/a>\u00a0#prop209<\/a>\u00a0#Colleges<\/a>\u00a0#Diversity<\/a>\u00a0#Quotas<\/a>\u00a0#RaceBasedAdmissions<\/a>\u00a0#highered<\/a>\u00a0#DEI<\/a>\u00a0#Admissions<\/a>\u00a0#legacyadmissions<\/a>\u00a0#alumni<\/a>\u00a0#merit<\/a>\u00a0#standardizedtests<\/a>\u00a0#SAT<\/a>\u00a0#ACT<\/a>\u00a0#apclasses<\/a>\u00a0#EdBlum<\/a>\u00a0#SupremeCourt<\/a>\u00a0#ethnicmedia<\/a>\u00a0#ethnicmediaservices<\/a><\/p>\n

\u266c original sound \u2013 ethnicmediaservices<\/a><\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cAs we\u2019ve seen with this term\u2019s decisions on Affirmative Action and student debt relief, the Supreme Court is more interested in making higher education attainable for primarily the wealthy and well-connected,\u201d says Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA).<\/p>\n

The most immediate effect will be decreased minority student enrollment at the University of North Carolina and Harvard, the two universities involved in the ruling, unless both schools figure out other ways to diversify their student body.<\/p>\n

Chu, who also chairs the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, told reporters at an\u00a0EMS press briefing<\/a>\u00a0last week she was \u201cdeeply distressed\u201d by the high court\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities are not a monolith. AANHPI students from low-income, first-generation, immigrant, refugee, or Indigenous communities are already systematically denied equal opportunity in education,\u201d she noted, adding they will encounter even more hurdles to acceptance at higher education institutions as a result of the decision.<\/p>\n

A \u2018devastating opinion\u2019<\/h2>\n

The suits, brought by the group Students for Fair Admissions \u2013 led by veteran conservative activist Howard Blum \u2013 claimed the universities\u2019 admissions policies discriminated against Asian applicants. Notably, no students testified on behalf of Blum\u2019s group in either suit.<\/p>\n

Jin Hee Lee, a veteran civil rights attorney with the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), called the ruling \u201ca devastating opinion\u201d that struck a blow to years of efforts to advance equal opportunity in a society that has tremendous inequalities.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery disappointing,\u201d said John C. Yang, President and Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), noting that despite the plaintiff\u2019s claims, a majority (69%) of Asian Americans support Affirmative Action.<\/p>\n

That narrative needs to be corrected, according to Yang, who acknowledged that while consideration of race in college admissions is now no longer legal, the effort to ensure diversity in higher education will continue. \u201cThis is not the end of the fight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Affirmative Action ruling continues the court\u2019s lurch rightward, coming as it does on the heels of several controversial decisions, most notably the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year and more recently the ending of President Biden\u2019s student loan debt forgiveness program and tighter limits on the federal government\u2019s authority to police water pollution.<\/p>\n

SCOTUS also ruled in favor of a web designer who argued her faith prevents her from serving LGBTQ+ clients, which critics say could open the floodgates to wider discrimination in public spaces.<\/p>\n

Widening inequality<\/h2>\n
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