We use cookies on this website. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policy and for us to access our cookies on your device.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday against allowing race to be used as a factor in college and university admissions, ending a decades-long policy intended to improve diversity in American higher education. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.]]
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptUS SCOTUS AFFIRMATIVE ACTION (TV)
HEADLINE: US Supreme Court Ends Decades-Long Policy of Including Race as Factor in College Admissions
TEASER: Biden encourages colleges to prioritize equality
PUBLISHED AT: 06/29/23 at 8:03 p.m.
BYLINE: Katherine Gypson
PRODUCERS: Katherine Gypson
CONTRIBUTING: Adrianna Zang, Laurel Bowman, Iacopo Luzi
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: Saqib Ui Islam
SCRIPT EDITORS: newhouse, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, VOA, ABC
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:54
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE: Note: Kenny Xu interview is on Teams so no courtesy is required.)
[[TV/web intro: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday against allowing race to be used as a factor in college and university admissions, ending a decades-long policy intended to improve diversity in American higher education. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.]]
((NARRATOR))
The U.S. Supreme Court ended a decades-long policy of allowing consideration of race in college and university admissions by a 6-3 vote Thursday….
((Open for nats from SCOTUS))
((NARRATOR))
….in a case brought by the group Students for Fair Admissions, who accused Harvard University and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill of discriminating against students based on race.
President Joe Biden said the decision should not change the goal of equality in higher education.
((President Joe Biden))
“They should not abandon their commitment to ensure student bodies of diverse backgrounds and experience that reflect all of America.”
((NARRATOR))
But for many advocates – some of whom say they were personally impacted by affirmative action – the decision is welcome.
[[FOR RADIO: Kenny Xu, is with the group Color us United.]]
((Kenny Xu, Color Us United)) (Teams, not courtesy needed)
“The color of your skin should have nothing to do about it. So if colleges continue to judge applicants based in part on their racial demographics, we are becoming a less just country and a more prejudicial country.”
((NARRATOR))
Affirmative action – a policy of considering the racial and ethnic backgrounds of students applying for higher education – has been in place since the 1960s.
The goal had been to boost the chances of admission for students whose racial or ethnic background has left them with fewer opportunities for a good education.
Analysts tell VOA the decision will have an immediate impact.
[[FOR RADIO: Katharine Meyer is a government policy analyst at Brookings Institution.]]
((Katharine Meyer, Brookings Institution))
((MANDATORY COURTESY: ZOOM))
“We can expect to see about a 10% drop in Black, Hispanic enrollment in the most highly selective institutions in the country, the types of institutions that would consider race because they're engaging in a competitive application.”
((NARRATOR))
In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said “eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.”
Supporter of the Supreme Court decision Jesse Park.
((Jesse Park, Supporter of Supreme Court Decision))
“It's a fair outcome to have equal consideration for every student regardless of race.”
((NARRATOR))
But the three justices in the minority said ending race-based admissions would increase inequality. One Harvard University graduate testified to the Supreme Court that racial identity cannot be removed from a student’s life experience.
[[FOR RADIO: Sally Chen is the education equity program manager at Chinese for Affirmative Action.]]
((Sally Chen, Chinese for Affirmative Action))
((MANDATORY COURTESY: ZOOM))
“I would not have been able to tell the full story of who I am without the context of race and ethnicity. And I'll add on as well that I feel a really deep sense of pride in who I am as a Chinese American, as an Asian American, I think that's an important part of my story.”
((NARRATOR))
In a June 2023 Yahoo News/YouGov poll, forty-one percent of Americans surveyed said they supported “color-blind” admissions policies.
((Katherine Gypson, VOA News, Washington)
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
