SCOTUS Affirmative Action decision could affect Service Academy and ROTC

Justice Thomas’ writings on this ruling are incredible. Absolutely incredible. Might be some of the best Constitutional writing I have read. Personal opinion I know.

May we all be assessed and measured by who we are. And what we have done. Not what box we check.

IMHO affirmative action had its place. And provided protections. But as our country has evolved it has become something other than intended.

I do believe what MLK said (paraphrasing), that we should be judged on the content of our character rather than the color of our skin.
 
For anyone interested, here is what Harvard's president-elect had to say to the Harvard community:

 
A1Janitor said:
Keep reading that paragraph.

…. Universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we find unlawful today … what cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly.
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How is this going to be enforced? Does this mean a court will determine if an essay prompt is "unlawful"? Or a court will subpoena applications?
 
cb7893 said:
How is this going to be enforced? Does this mean a court will determine if an essay prompt is "unlawful"? Or a court will subpoena applications?
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Obviously. The universities can circumvent the law.

I was just correcting the prior post.
 
I watched the Harvard video, and the president-elect spoke about maintaining the commitment to diversity. They could continue to do that in a better way than the status quo. For example, they could be committed to providing opportunities to students who come from challenging backgrounds, such as those who grow up in poverty. That would be a better way of creating a diverse class and could be done in a non-discriminatory way, open to students of all skin colors and ethnicities, rather than choosing students based solely on the color of their skin.
 
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I think in all of this debate about the Court decision, it is important to remember that the Service Academies do not admit unqualified candidates. Having had an opportunity to work within the Field Force for a little while now, I am confident that the Service Academies (or at least West Point) remain focused on bringing in quality candidates to fill the future officer ranks. Certainly there can be debate on whether or not they should have the ability to pass over someone on the order of merit list to select someone lower on the list, but all of those candidates still have to be qualified.

It will be interesting to see what impact this decision has on colleges more broadly. I am not convinced that colleges will change their actions because I don't see how this is truly enforceable.
 
A1Janitor said:
Obviously. The universities can circumvent the law.

I was just correcting the prior post.
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I should have clarified that the line I was quoting was not directly from the Supreme Court decision. It was from a letter to all Harvard alumni from the current President of Harvard.

The full line reads: ""The Court also ruled that colleges and universities may consider in admissions decisions “an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.” We will certainly comply with the Court’s decision"".

It seems that, by omitting a key portion of the court's decision in the letter to alumni, Harvard may try to find wiggle room in what constitutes directly and indirectly.
 
Small Team Bacsi said:
Great just great. Holding up all senior military appointments was not enough.
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"...would 'prohibit the Department of Defense from prioritizing the demographic characteristics of service members above individual merit and demonstrated performance.'”
Could they throw in athletic characteristics?
 
Already heard lots of talk among my college circle about the decision this week.

The service academy footnote is interesting. Sometimes footnotes are super important in opinions (Carolene Products Footnote 4 comes to mind)
 
Waiting for comment but will probably keep their heads down and carry on.:cool: Maybe a few eye rolls.:biggrin:
 

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I see nothing wrong with a SA concentrating on recruiting qualified candidates who may not be familiar with the oppertunities provided.
 
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