WASHINGTON.- The president of United States, Joe Bidencalled on universities this Thursday to continue guaranteeing racial diversity among their students, after the Supreme Court ended positive discrimination on racial grounds when admitting students.
«In practice, the court has ended positive discrimination in university admissions. I totally disagree with the decision because they have misunderstood affirmative action,” he declared in a message to the media at the White House.
The Democratic leader recalled that for decades universities have used race as one of the many factors to take into account when admitting students, with the aim of favoring diversity.
But he clarified that this system has never allowed students with lower qualifications to enter the university before other better-prepared students just because of their skin color.
Affirmative action gained particular prominence in the country during the African-American civil rights movement and the end of racial segregation in schools in the 1950s.
The Supreme Court had protected since 1978 the right of universities to consider race as a factor in the admissions process, albeit in a limited way.
But the conservative-majority high court ruled Thursday that Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the Constitution by using race as a factor in the admissions process.
In his speech, Biden claimed that diversity is “one of America’s greatest strengths” and opined that the Supreme Court cannot end the idea that all citizens should have “opportunities and not be left behind.”
For this reason, he urged schools “to not abandon their commitment to ensure that students have diverse backgrounds and experiences that reflect the entire United States.”
In this sense, the president proposed that universities use a new system in their admission processes that first selects the best qualified students and then takes into account the “adversities” they have gone through, such as low income or racial discrimination.
“Discrimination still exists in the United States and today’s ruling is not going to change that,” Biden stressed.
On the other hand, former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), favorite in the Republican primaries for 2024, considered that this is “a great day for the United States” thanks to the court decision.
The former president opined on social media that the ruling will reward “people with extraordinary abilities,” restore meritocracy, and make the United States “competitive with the rest of the world.”
“This is the ruling we’ve all been waiting for and the result is amazing,” said Trump, who during his tenure nominated three of the conservative Supreme Court justices.
In the North Carolina case, the prosecution argued that the admissions policy discriminated against white and Asian candidates over African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, while at Harvard, a group of Asian students denounced the use of subjective criteria to limit the number of accepted candidates.
