'We're not important anymore': Supreme Court ruling sends shockwaves through college campuses
CAMBRIDGE - A Supreme Court decision has colleges and universities scrambling to restructure its admissions process. "How are we going to be properly represented," one Harvard University student asked.
The Supreme Court ruling is sending shockwaves through college campuses across the country. In a 6-2 vote, the high court ruled that affirmative action at colleges and universities is unconstitutional - banning them from using race as a determining factor in the admissions process.
"We will comply with the court's decision, but it does not change our values," said Harvard University President Claudine Gay.
Harvard is at the center of this ruling. The plaintiff, Students for Fair Admissions, argued that Harvard discriminated against Asian American students by limiting how many Asians it admits.
Harvard students are still processing the ruling, but some say race and life experiences are just as important as merit.
"People of color were properly accounted for and represented because they looked at - we need more people of color... now we're not important anymore. Now it's just based on our academics," one student said.
Affirmative action, another student believes, paves the way for disadvantaged students to have a chance at success.
"I think it's super interesting how we can go about talking about our life experiences in our college applications and now having to negate race as a part of our lives," said Augustin Leon Saenc.
While Harvard said it values race and diversity on campus, colleges and universities are scrambling now to restructure their admissions process.
"In the coming weeks, we'll be working to understand the decision and its implications on our policies," Gay said in a video message to Harvard's student body.
A rally in support of affirmative action is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Harvard's campus in Cambridge.
