Late last month, the United States Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admissions policies, known as "affirmative action," at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina are unconstitutional.
As Spencer reported, the majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett stated that "Harvard and UNC admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause. Both programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points. We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today."
NEW — "Harvard and UNC's admissions programs...violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment..." pic.twitter.com/gGkJnvZUOL
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 29, 2023
Following the Court’s decision, the UNC will offer free tuition to some undergraduate students now that it is not allowed to use race-conscious in its admissions process.
Beginning in 2024, the school will provide free tuition and required fees for incoming in-state students whose families make less than $80,000 per year, UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in a statement published Friday (via UNC-Chapel Hill):
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court held that universities across the country can no longer consider race when making admissions decisions, marking a fundamental change in the law that governs our admissions process, and that of thousands of other universities.
We will follow the Supreme Court’s decision in all respects. That means race will not be a factor in admissions decisions at the University. It also means we will comply with the Court’s ruling that an applicant’s lived racial experience cannot be credited as “race for race’s sake,” but instead under some circumstances may illuminate an individual’s character and contributions.
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First, Carolina will provide free tuition and required fees for incoming undergraduates from North Carolina whose families make less than $80,000 per year. Beginning with the incoming class in 2024, we will expand the University’s long-standing commitment to access and affordability for North Carolina families.
[...]
Second, as part of our commitment to reach future Tar Heels throughout the state, we have hired additional outreach officers as part of our admissions team. They are serving in under-resourced communities to spread awareness of our affordability and recruit students from across the state. We want the best students to know that a UNC-Chapel Hill education is a possibility for them.
Our responsibility to comply with the law does not mean we will abandon our fundamental values as a university.
According to The Hill, the average cost of tuition at UNC for in-state students is $9,000.
“The student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the opinion. “Many universities have for too long done just the opposite. And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”
Last week, Townhall reported how Harvard is now facing a legal challenge over its legacy-based admissions policies. The organizations behind the lawsuits claim that this kind of policy benefits white students.