Majority Of Americans Believe College Should Consider Race In Admissions, Poll Says
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Most Americans believe affirmative action in college admissions is a good thing.
MORE: Op-Ed: Affirmative Action Expands Opportunities For Future Teachers And Their Students
A recent poll released by the Associated Press found that a majority of U.S. adults believe colleges should consider race as part of the admissions process.
The poll, which was released in May, found that 63% say the Supreme Court should not block colleges from considering race or ethnicity in their admission systems.
Although the majority of those polled said Colleges should consider race in admissions, most said factors including grades and standardized test scores should be more important than race.
Among those polled, 13% said they think race should be a very or extremely important part of the admission process, according to the poll, while 18% said it should be somewhat important.
It’s obvious that Americans have general support for affirmative action, but Republicans have continued to make it their mission to dismantle it.
Nine states in the U.S. have banned race-based affirmative action, including California, Washington, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Arizona, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Idaho.
The Supreme Court is set to rule on two affirmative action college admissions lawsuits by the end of June. The majority conservative court will likely end affirmative actions, which could eliminate the use of race in admissions altogether. Some experts believe causing colleges and universities to completely revamp their admissions policies to not take race into account will result in fewer minority students in college.
During polling AP asked some participants how they felt about affirmative action in college admissions.
“It seems like it’s hard to get in if you don’t have that help, just because we’re not traditionally thought of as industrious or smart or hardworking,” Layla Trombley told AP during an interview.
Most colleges only use race as a small factor when deciding who should attend the university.
Many colleges, especially selective ones, say race is one of many factors that officials can weigh when choosing which students get accepted. They say it is not a large influence but may sometimes give an edge to underrepresented students in close decisions. Colleges defend the practice as a way to bring a wide mix of students to campus, saying racial diversity benefits all students.
Only time will tell what affirmative action in college admissions looks like in five years if it even exists at all.
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Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Dismantles Anti-Affirmative Action Position During SCOTUS Oral Argument
