The nation remains abuzz following Thursday’s Supreme Court’s landmark decision to strike down race-based admissions policies at two premier U.S. universities, Harvard and the University of North Carolina. In response to the ruling, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy warned that these higher learning institutions are already scrambling to devise “workarounds” to circumvent the high court’s order.
Ramaswamy, during a discussion with Fox News Tonight host Lawrence Jones, candidly stated, “The colleges, the elite universities, are already taking steps for workarounds, reducing the value of test scores or any quantitative metrics in their weightings as a way through the back door of achieving the same racial outcomes.”
Colleges are already trying to undercut the Supreme Court’s ruling https://t.co/3N7DVVESLe
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 1, 2023
The Supreme Court’s ruling, a 6-3 verdict against the University of North Carolina and a 6-2 ruling against Harvard rendered these universities’ admission policies that considered race unconstitutional. However, while the decision has widespread application throughout the nation, it does not apply to military academies, which can still take race into account during admissions.
The ruling faced vehement opposition from Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who wrote in her dissenting opinion, “Gulf-sized race-based gaps exist concerning the health, wealth, and well-being of American citizens. They were created in the distant past, but have indisputably been passed down to the present day through the generations.”
Ramaswamy strongly endorsed the ruling, believing it to be a pivotal step toward eliminating what he sees as the “single greatest form of institutional racism in America today.” He told ABC News in another interview: “By definition, there are institutions that regularly take race into account as a factor on whether or not someone gets a job or gets a seat in college. By definition, that’s institutionalized racism.”
Despite hinting at measures to navigate around the ruling, Harvard University’s response underscored the tension surrounding the verdict. According to a press release, they will consider applicant essays discussing how race affected their lives during the admissions process.
In response to such tactics, Ramaswamy vowed, “I’ll direct the Department of Justice to put an end to those illegal back-door practices as well.” He further pledged to rescind an executive order by President Lyndon Baines Johnson that required racial quotas for federal contractors.
Ramaswamy’s staunch stance against race-based preferences didn’t deter him from acknowledging the issues of education disparities and socio-economic factors plaguing American communities. He highlighted the importance of improving early education and strengthening family structures to counter such disparities.
The candidate firmly believes in providing everyone with equality of opportunity over artificially maintaining diversity. He asserted, “That’s where we need to focus. I know that’s not an easy solution. So we should worry less about diversity, visually speaking, and more about lifting up everyone to give them equality of opportunity. That’s the way I’ll lead the country.”
