The U.S. Supreme Court this morning asked President Biden for his opinion on whether the high court should take up Harvard’s affirmative action case, reports Reuters.
The lawsuit alleges Harvard’s consideration of race in admissions discriminates against Asian American applicants. It’s once again been brought up by Edward Blum, a conservative White man who founded Students for Fair Admission.
Blum has lost on this issue every time he brings it up with the Supreme Court, but this time he would have a court packed with three conservative judges nominated by Trump.
Some had expected the justices to make a decision today on whether to hear the case, but that now appears unlikely given its request to the White House. Bloomberg reports that decision won’t come until late this year.
The case would ask the Supreme Court to overturn its 2003 decision that ruled race is a valid criteria to consider when trying to diversify its student body.
“Harvard’s mistreatment of Asian American applicants is appalling,” the case alleges. The university says it does not penalize Asian Americans in admissions.
“Universities across the country have followed this precedent in structuring their admissions processes,” the college argued. “And the American public has looked to this precedent for assurance that the nation recognizes and values the benefits of diversity and that the path to leadership is open to all.”
The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority.
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