"Race still matters in this country": Education experts weigh in on SCOTUS affirmative action dissent
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Supreme Court has struck down affirmative action in college admissions decisions in another landmark ruling from the nation's highest court Thursday.
The ruling is reverberating through Washington D.C., as well as colleges and universities across the country.
Demonstrators gathered outside the Supreme Court after the justices ruled that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. On the other hand, activists who argued the universities' affirmative action policies discriminated against White and Asian-American applicants hailed the ruling as a victory.
Education and law experts are also reacting to the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action, including one who tried this case in lower courts.
Some said this was the right decision and that students will be judged based on their merits, instead of their race, but there's also a major concern that this decision will result in less diversity on college campuses.
"This decision is a huge barrier and it comes at a time when we know race still matters in this country," said Cara McClellan, the director with Advocacy for Racial and Civil Justice Clinic.
McClellan is an associate professor at Penn Law School, as well as the director of the school's advocacy for racial and civil justice clinic. She also represented 25 student groups in lower courts fighting against Thursday's Supreme Court decision.
She spent Thursday reviewing the decision with her students.
"When our institutions of higher education become exclusionary spaces that really undermines the legitimacy of our promise of the American dream," McClellan said.
At the clinic, they focus on civil rights and policy work. She said policies, like affirmative action, helped all students, not just students of color.
"All students benefit from being in a diverse population on campus. The research shows that the benefits in terms of critical thinking [and] leadership skills in terms of being prepared for the workforce," McClellan said.
However, Vic Bernson, of the conservative group Young America's Foundation, sees the decision differently.
"I think we've achieved equal justice under law," Bernson said.
Bernson is the vice president of the Virginia-based organization. He said he identifies as Hispanic but was also vocal in overturning affirmative action in college admissions, adding that the only thing that should matter is students' credentials.
"I don't want anyone thinking my success wasn't earned but was given to me by some benefactor who claims to know more about what's better for me than I know myself," Bernson said.
Bernson said he thinks affirmative action was a blanket policy but added that it should've only been used by students who experienced racism in the admissions process.
On the other hand, McClellan said individual schools will now have to work even harder to ensure equal opportunities for students.
President Biden delivered brief remarks following the Supreme Court decision, expressing his disagreement with the landmark ruling that overturned decades of precedent.
The president said many people wrongly believe that affirmative action allows unqualified students to be admitted ahead of qualified students but noted that this is not how college admissions work.
He said after first meeting the qualifications required by the school, the colleges look at other factors in addition to their grades, such as race.
President Biden also criticized the system of legacy admissions, which gives preference to students with families that are alumni, saying that colleges should be engines of expanding opportunity for low-income students.
CBS News conducted a poll to see what Americans think about affirmative action. When asked if colleges should be allowed to consider race in admissions, 70% of people who responded said it should not be allowed, while 30% said it should.
The numbers were very different when asked if affirmative action programs should be continued. More than half the people who responded said they should be continued. However, there's a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.