US Colleges Plan for Court's Decision on Affirmative Action
2023-06-01
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1American colleges and universities are expecting an important decision from the U.S. Supreme Court involving a policy called affirmative action.
2The decision will come by the end of June.
3Affirmative action generally describes the idea that it is good for society to favor people who come from groups thought to be disadvantaged or discriminated against.
4Colleges and employers often think about affirmative action issues when making decisions.
5College and university officials started considering race a lot in the 1960s and 1970s.
6They wanted the racial and ethnic backgrounds of students at the schools where they worked to match those of America's high school students.
7Last year, the nation's highest court agreed to hear the appeal by a group called Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
8The group accused the universities of discriminating against applicants based on race in violation of federal law or the U.S. Constitution.
9Legal experts believe the Supreme Court will say colleges and universities can no longer consider race when choosing students.
10The Supreme Court first ruled in 1978 that race could be considered in college admission.
11But in the same case, it banned setting aside a percentage or number of students for admission based on race alone.
12In 2003, the court again permitted race to be considered to create "a diverse educational environment."
13In 1998, voters in California approved a measure barring public colleges and universities from considering race in admitting students.
14In 2020, a University of California, Berkeley doctoral student released a paper that found a drop in the number of Black, Hispanic, and Native American students who were accepted to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Berkeley.
15A UCLA law professor disputed those findings.
16However, Californians again voted to approve the ban in 2020.
17Some American universities believe an important part of the educational experience includes meeting and going to class with a diverse group of people.
18So those who work on college admissions are thinking of ways to keep their student body diverse without asking students' skin color or family backgrounds.
19Seth Allen is the head of admissions at Pomona College in California.
20He said, "We cannot afford as a nation to (go back) on our goals to create an educated and equitable society."
21He said universities need to work together to be sure they are not "furthering the enrollment gap among different groups of students."
22Schools are thinking of ways to advertise themselves to minority groups.
23They have made applications less costly for families who do not have much money.
24And they have promised to make stronger connections with high schools and community colleges that have mostly minority students.
25At Rice University, in Houston, Texas, school leaders want to think more about the writing examples that students send in with their application.
26They believe paying more attention to the written answers will help them choose a diverse group of students.
27The president at Skidmore College in New York state said the school will make good connections with high school counselors.
28Those counselors will then advise students to apply.
29Universities are already making it easier for students to apply.
30Many schools will consider students who do not send scores from tests such as the SAT or ACT.
31They are also trying to increase financial awards for students who might not usually consider a costly university.
32The school leaders who talked with the Reuters news agency said they expect the Supreme Court's decision to prompt appeals and new legal cases.
33Danielle Holley is a legal expert who is currently the head of the law school at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
34Later this year, she will start as the president of Mount Holyoke University in Massachusetts.
35Holley said the court's decision will start "a whole new generation of lawsuits."
36Yvonne Berumen is vice president of admissions at Pitzer College in California.
37She said her group may invite students who do not normally think of Pitzer to an essay workshop, with the hopes of getting them to apply.
38Kent Devereaux is president of Goucher College in Maryland.
39He said organizations in low-income communities who identify students who could do well in college are going to be more important than before.
40"We're seeing each year a bigger percentage of our students come from those...organizations," Devereaux said.
41Even military schools, such as the U.S. Air Force Academy, are getting ready for the Supreme Court's decision.
42Colonel Arthur Primas, Jr. is the academy's admissions director.
43Primas said the plan is to visit schools in parts of the U.S. with a lot of minority students and ask them to apply.
44Students need to ask their local member of congress for a nomination if they want to go to the Air Force Academy.
45Primas said the academy has a "long tradition of actively recruiting diverse candidates...but we're going to have to be really expansive."
46I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Caty Weaver.
1American colleges and universities are expecting an important decision from the U.S. Supreme Court involving a policy called affirmative action. 2The decision will come by the end of June. 3Affirmative action generally describes the idea that it is good for society to favor people who come from groups thought to be disadvantaged or discriminated against. Colleges and employers often think about affirmative action issues when making decisions. 4College and university officials started considering race a lot in the 1960s and 1970s. They wanted the racial and ethnic backgrounds of students at the schools where they worked to match those of America's high school students. 5Last year, the nation's highest court agreed to hear the appeal by a group called Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The group accused the universities of discriminating against applicants based on race in violation of federal law or the U.S. Constitution. 6Legal experts believe the Supreme Court will say colleges and universities can no longer consider race when choosing students. 7Past experience 8The Supreme Court first ruled in 1978 that race could be considered in college admission. But in the same case, it banned setting aside a percentage or number of students for admission based on race alone. In 2003, the court again permitted race to be considered to create "a diverse educational environment." 9In 1998, voters in California approved a measure barring public colleges and universities from considering race in admitting students. 10In 2020, a University of California, Berkeley doctoral student released a paper that found a drop in the number of Black, Hispanic, and Native American students who were accepted to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Berkeley. A UCLA law professor disputed those findings. 11However, Californians again voted to approve the ban in 2020. 12Value of diversity 13Some American universities believe an important part of the educational experience includes meeting and going to class with a diverse group of people. 14So those who work on college admissions are thinking of ways to keep their student body diverse without asking students' skin color or family backgrounds. 15Seth Allen is the head of admissions at Pomona College in California. He said, "We cannot afford as a nation to (go back) on our goals to create an educated and equitable society." He said universities need to work together to be sure they are not "furthering the enrollment gap among different groups of students." 16Schools are thinking of ways to advertise themselves to minority groups. They have made applications less costly for families who do not have much money. And they have promised to make stronger connections with high schools and community colleges that have mostly minority students. 17At Rice University, in Houston, Texas, school leaders want to think more about the writing examples that students send in with their application. They believe paying more attention to the written answers will help them choose a diverse group of students. 18The president at Skidmore College in New York state said the school will make good connections with high school counselors. Those counselors will then advise students to apply. 19Universities are already making it easier for students to apply. Many schools will consider students who do not send scores from tests such as the SAT or ACT. They are also trying to increase financial awards for students who might not usually consider a costly university. 20The school leaders who talked with the Reuters news agency said they expect the Supreme Court's decision to prompt appeals and new legal cases. 21Danielle Holley is a legal expert who is currently the head of the law school at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Later this year, she will start as the president of Mount Holyoke University in Massachusetts. 22Holley said the court's decision will start "a whole new generation of lawsuits." 23Writing workshops 24Yvonne Berumen is vice president of admissions at Pitzer College in California. She said her group may invite students who do not normally think of Pitzer to an essay workshop, with the hopes of getting them to apply. 25Kent Devereaux is president of Goucher College in Maryland. He said organizations in low-income communities who identify students who could do well in college are going to be more important than before. 26"We're seeing each year a bigger percentage of our students come from those...organizations," Devereaux said. 27Even military schools, such as the U.S. Air Force Academy, are getting ready for the Supreme Court's decision. Colonel Arthur Primas, Jr. is the academy's admissions director. Primas said the plan is to visit schools in parts of the U.S. with a lot of minority students and ask them to apply. Students need to ask their local member of congress for a nomination if they want to go to the Air Force Academy. 28Primas said the academy has a "long tradition of actively recruiting diverse candidates...but we're going to have to be really expansive." 29I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Caty Weaver. 30Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by Reuters. 31___________________________________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33disadvantaged -adj. lacking money or education necessary to have a certain position in society 34diverse -adj. made up of people different from each other 35afford -v. to be able to pay for something 36equitable -adj. dealing with someone equally with other people 37enrollment -n. the process of being admitted to a school 38gap -n. something that appears to be a mismatch in the numbers, percentages or rates related to one group compared to another group 39counselor -n. a person who gives advice about educational issues 40encourage -v. to cause people to want to do something 41prompt -v. to cause to happen 42recruit -v. to persuade people to join a group, especially the military or business organizations 43expansive -adj. to do something widely; to cover or include many things 44__________________________________________________________________ 45We want to hear from you. 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