US president Joe Biden defended affirmative action use in college admissions, saying that the court walked away from 'decades of precedent.' This came as the US supreme court effectively barred universities from using race as a factor in university admissions, rolling back affirmative action programs with 6-3 majority.
Joe Biden said that he “strongly, strongly” disagrees with the Supreme Court’s decision stressing that race-based discrimination continues to exist in America while urging colleges not to let the ruling “be the last word.”
“They should not abandon their commitment to ensure student bodies of diverse backgrounds and experience that reflect all of America,” Joe Biden said.
"Discrimination still exists in America. Today's decision doesn't change that," he said.
When asked by a reporter if this is "a rogue court," the US president replied, "This is not a normal court."
The court rejected arguments by Harvard College and the University of North Carolina that their admissions programs are designed to ensure campus diversity saying that the insitutions violated US Constitution’s equal protection clause.
“Both programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points. We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today," the court ruled.
{{/usCountry}}“Both programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points. We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today," the court ruled.
{{/usCountry}}The ruling could result in a major overhaul of the admission policy in US.