Coalition for Transforming Higher Education Funding (CTHEF) Responds to Supreme Court Decision to Strike Down Affirmative ActionCTHEF urges state and institutional leaders to remain committed to racial equity in policy and practice
The Supreme Court’s decisions in Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. the University of North Carolina and SFFA v. President and Fellows for Harvard College to strike down race-conscious affirmative action in college admissions marks a somber moment for equitable access to higher education in the United States.
We are deeply disappointed in this decision. Affirmative action was one measure that helped redress historical racial inequities upon which this country was founded and which it continues to perpetuate. However, affirmative action has never been enough to ensure racial equity in higher education admissions or student outcomes. It is important that we use this opportunity to create stronger policies and practices to ensure equity in the admissions process and student outcomes.
This decision actively harms underrepresented students of color, specifically Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students. While we recognize that affirmative action was never sufficient in removing all of the barriers underrepresented students faced in accessing college, affirmative action was essential in protecting equitable access to higher learning. This decision’s devastating effects will not only be felt immediately on college campuses across the country but will also have a lasting impact, deepening inequities that will reverberate into the rest of society.
As a group of higher education equity-minded advocates from across Illinois, we remain dedicated and committed to ensuring that lawmakers, the state of Illinois, and institutional leaders prioritize racial equity, even in the face of this decision that sets our work backward and actively hurts our underrepresented students of color, specifically Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students. We recognize that a student population with greater racial diversity will foster a workforce that values diverse perspectives, fuels creativity, and drives innovation, thereby enhancing global our competitiveness both now and in the future.We double down on our commitment to continue advocating for meaningful action that addresses the systemic forces causing disparities and gaps in who can access the college opportunity and earn a degree.
The Coalition will continue its work to increase racial equity in higher education in the weeks and months ahead following this decision that goes against decades of precedent. We will continue to advocate for equitable and adequate funding to ensure Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students have sufficient resources to access, persist, and graduate, while also working with those in positions of influence to continue pushing toward representative diversity in higher education.
For more information about the Coalition on Transforming Higher Education Funding, please visit our website at transformilhighered.org.
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The Coalition for Transforming Higher Education Funding is a group of like-minded individuals and organizations across Illinois who believe that by advancing a public university funding model that prioritizes racial and socioeconomic equity, then we will see statewide increases in higher education equity; through better-resourced institutions serving more representative student populations, more resources directed to colleges serving Black, Latinx, low-income, rural and first-generation college students, and increased investment in higher education.