Supreme Court rulings impact Higher Ed

By Jennifer Igbonoba

North Texas universities largely remain uncertain about how the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action will affect their future policies. Universities across the metroplex are not explicit as to how the ruling will affect their policies moving forward.

Last Friday, the High Court ruled against the admissions processes at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, effectively gutting the Court’s long-standing precedent of up-holding affirmative action and race-conscious admissions processes and making it unlawful for colleges and universities to take race into consideration of an applicant.

Both the presidents of Harvard and the UNC system have since released statements expressing their intent to abide by the new procedures and their commitment to serving students of all backgrounds.

Universities in North Texas, like Southern Methodist University, released similar statements expressing they will abide by the Court’s ruling but are unclear about what specific changes will occur in the admission process or to university offices.

“Despite the implications this ruling may have on policies and practices at SMU and every other college campus in America, we will continue to be a welcoming and supportive community,” SMU President R. Gerald Turner said in a statement to university members.

Turner also acknowledged that the university is working on the specific changes but did not give a timeline as to when the changes would occur.

“Although we are committed to sharing information and working through these changes together in a manner that maintains our values, it will take some time for the University to analyze the ruling and its impact,” Turner said.

The University of Texas at Tyler and the University of Dallas already did not consider race in the admission and scholarship process prior to the ruling.

In a statement to the campus community, UTD President Dr. Richard C. Benson said that while the university may not consider race, it will “continue to foster an open, inclusive and diverse community.”

Jennifer Igbonoba is a sophomore at George Washington University where she is studying economics and journalism. She was a 2021 Fellow in the Scripps Howard Program at the University of North Texas and this is her second internship with I Messenger Media.