3 ms·

The most elite colleges already pre-empted this ruling by rapidly moving towards non-merit based admissions they will just make it so you can't really tell if

The most elite colleges already pre-empted this ruling by rapidly moving towards non-merit based admissions they will just make it so you can't really tell if they are using affirmative action or not instead of having it be explicit.

raincom 3y ago
Yes, they can do that. However, they have to be very, very careful, because of this: '[U]niversities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today. ...“[W]hat cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly. The Constitution deals with substance, not shadows,” and the prohibition against racial discrimination is “levelled at the thing, not the name' (pp39-40 of https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf)
stjohnswarts 3y ago
Won't people be able to prove statistically that they are obviously still using affirmative action policies via GPAs/SAT scores/racial mix? I'm not that great at statistics but that doesn't seem like a very hard task even using basic figures of merit like ratio of applicants to population of accepted students. Seems like something easy to bring a class action suit against a University after a few years of data is available.
- peanuty1 3y ago
  They can use personality scores and rate Asians lower.
gnicholas 3y ago
There will be many lawsuits, especially if these can be litigated via 'section 1983', which appears to be applicable for state schools. [1] In these cases, attorney's fees are granted for plaintiffs that prevail, which significantly incentivizes lawyers to take on cases that have a decent chance of winning. A plaintiff doesn't have to be able to prove its case in its initial filing: if the initial complaint isn't thrown out (which a good lawyer could likely avoid), then the plaintiff gets to go through 'discovery', where it can compel the defendant to produce relevant documents and data. In the case of affirmative action, this would include potentially damning evidence like notes from admissions meetings (if the school is foolish enough to put illegal considerations in writing), as well as detailed statistical information regarding the makeup of the applicants and admitted students. 1: https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/what-are-the-elements-of-a-section-1983-claim/ https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/what-are-the-elements-...

raincom 3y ago

Yes, they can do that. However, they have to be very, very careful, because of this: '[U]niversities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today. ...“[W]hat cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly. The Constitution deals with substance, not shadows,” and the prohibition against racial discrimination is “levelled at the thing, not the name' (pp39-40 of https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf)

stjohnswarts 3y ago

Won't people be able to prove statistically that they are obviously still using affirmative action policies via GPAs/SAT scores/racial mix? I'm not that great at statistics but that doesn't seem like a very hard task even using basic figures of merit like ratio of applicants to population of accepted students. Seems like something easy to bring a class action suit against a University after a few years of data is available.

peanuty1 3y ago
They can use personality scores and rate Asians lower.

gnicholas 3y ago

There will be many lawsuits, especially if these can be litigated via 'section 1983', which appears to be applicable for state schools. [1] In these cases, attorney's fees are granted for plaintiffs that prevail, which significantly incentivizes lawyers to take on cases that have a decent chance of winning. A plaintiff doesn't have to be able to prove its case in its initial filing: if the initial complaint isn't thrown out (which a good lawyer could likely avoid), then the plaintiff gets to go through 'discovery', where it can compel the defendant to produce relevant documents and data. In the case of affirmative action, this would include potentially damning evidence like notes from admissions meetings (if the school is foolish enough to put illegal considerations in writing), as well as detailed statistical information regarding the makeup of the applicants and admitted students. 1: https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/what-are-the-elements-of-a-section-1983-claim/ https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/what-are-the-elements-...