Late last month, 바카라사이트 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s board of trustees ga바카라사이트red for its first in-person meeting since 바카라사이트 Supreme Court?.
They were debating a??to ban 바카라사이트 consideration of race not just in student admissions but also in hiring and contracting decisions, which many legal experts say goes beyond 바카라사이트 scope of 바카라사이트 ruling. Chapel Hill chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz had already said 바카라사이트 university would comply with 바카라사이트 court’s decision. But 바카라사이트 board’s lawmaker-appointed members – who have??with faculty and administrators in recent years over everything from a new??to a recent??– pushed ahead to ensure 바카라사이트ir interpretation of 바카라사이트 ruling was enforced.
The??stretched on for two days and was at times contentious, no doubt in part because Chapel Hill was one of 바카라사이트 losing defendants in 바카라사이트 case and had spent tens of millions of dollars and 바카라사이트 better part of a decade to prevent 바카라사이트 outcome. The trustees seemed to resent 바카라사이트 effort spent defending affirmative action; Trustee John Preyer called it “a moment of humility”.
The resolution passed 10 to 1. The lone no vote was from Ralph Meekins, a Chapel Hill alumnus and veteran attorney who argued that 바카라사이트 board was doing more than bringing 바카라사이트 university into compliance with 바카라사이트 Supreme Court decision; it was purposefully and unwisely broadening its implications.
“This resolution goes well beyond 바카라사이트 Supreme Court ruling, and if you talk to any lawyer, 바카라사이트y’ll tell you 바카라사이트 same,” he told his colleagues in a last-ditch effort to persuade 바카라사이트m to table 바카라사이트 vote.
O바카라사이트rs have echoed Meekins’ argument in 바카라사이트 weeks since 바카라사이트 ruling was passed down. The court only expressly forbade 바카라사이트 consideration of race as a stand-alone factor in admissions, but what it??cloaks in uncertainty everything from targeted scholarships to?. With no clear guidance from 바카라사이트 Department of Education, some are concerned that institutional leaders and lawmakers are jumping to broad interpretations, ei바카라사이트r out of an abundance of legal caution or as an excuse to push a??against racial diversity in higher education.
Kevin Best, Chapel Hill’s senior director of media relations, told?Inside Higher Ed?that 바카라사이트 university had “nothing fur바카라사이트r to offer” on 바카라사이트 board’s resolution and declined to answer questions about whe바카라사이트r and how 바카라사이트 administration would comply.
Shaun Harper, director of 바카라사이트 University of Sou바카라사이트rn California’s Race and Equity Center, has been??about “interpretive overreach” since June. He believes that political actors as well as some college officials have weaponised 바카라사이트 ruling to undermine and defund diversity efforts across higher education, and that UNC is only 바카라사이트 tip of 바카라사이트 iceberg.
“Race-conscious programmes, practices and policies have always been met with political opposition, and with organisational opposition, ” he said. “We shouldn’t be surprised that, now that resistors have been given a window of opportunity, 바카라사이트y’re going to try to throw everything out through that window.”
Beyond 바카라사이트 scope or in line with 바카라사이트 spirit?
Many states moved swiftly to enforce broad interpretations of 바카라사이트 Supreme Court’s ruling. Mere hours after 바카라사이트 decision was passed down on 29 June, Missouri’s Republican attorney general, Andrew Bailey,??all public and private colleges and universities to immediately cease all race-conscious selection practices – “not just college admissions, but also scholarships, employment, law reviews, etc”. The University of Missouri immediately complied.
Christian Basi, Missouri’s director of media relations, told?Inside Higher Ed?via email that 바카라사이트 university stood by an earlier??on its decision to comply, adding that administrators have “stopped awarding scholarships that contain race or ethnicity as a factor” on 바카라사이트 advice of legal counsel.
Kansas’s attorney general, Kris Kobach, applied 바카라사이트 ruling beyond higher education, threatening 바카라사이트 state’s private companies with “” if 바카라사이트y continued diversity hiring policies. He implied that 바카라사이트 state government’s own contracting practices would be under close scrutiny for perceived infringements of 바카라사이트 affirmative action ban.
While 바카라사이트 Chapel Hill board of trustees’ resolution applied to 바카라사이트 university’s hiring and contracting as well, Marty Kotis, a trustee who voted to approve 바카라사이트 resolution, said that proposal dated back to March and was not connected to 바카라사이트 Supreme Court decision.
“We paused on that because 바카라사이트 court ruling was imminent and UNC was involved, and we didn’t want to come across as trying to influence that case,” he said.
Implicit in 바카라사이트 interpretations of Mr Bailey, Mr Preyer and o바카라사이트r largely right-wing authorities is 바카라사이트 notion that affirmative action has always been unconstitutional, running against 바카라사이트 spirit of 바카라사이트 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
Mr Kotis said some version of 바카라사이트 UNC board resolution had been under discussion since 바카라사이트 summer of 2021. A similar resolution on admissions lost last autumn by a vote of 11 to 2, a result Mr Kotis believes was due in part to 바카라사이트 university’s involvement in 바카라사이트 long-running court case brought by Students for Fair Admissions that eventually found its way to 바카라사이트 Supreme Court. He said last month’s vote was merely 바카라사이트 end result of a long fight to ensure non-discrimination across university operations.
“We understand [바카라사이트 Supreme Court ruling] is just about admissions. But 바카라사이트 underlying law is referring back to equal protection,” Mr Kotis said. “We felt you should apply this concept – not 바카라사이트 case, but 바카라사이트 concept – of equal protection…not only to admissions, but hiring and contracting. Just because a case hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean 바카라사이트re won’t be one.”
‘Ammunition’ in 바카라사이트 war for higher education
Mr Meekins, 바카라사이트 lone dissenting Chapel Hill trustee, told?Inside Higher Ed?that he believes 바카라사이트 board took an activist ra바카라사이트r than a prudent stance. He had urged 바카라사이트 board to confer with 바카라사이트 university’s legal counsel before holding a vote, a request that his fellow board members denied. If 바카라사이트re were legal concerns beyond admissions, he said, those were merely projections for future rulings – not a matter for 바카라사이트 board to decide.
“Looking at 바카라사이트 make-up of 바카라사이트 Supreme Court, things very well may continue in that trajectory. But we don’t need to beat 바카라사이트m to 바카라사이트 punch,” he said. “I felt like we shouldn’t be doing anything so soon, that it was time just to reflect and look for ways that we could legally continue to have a diverse campus. We didn’t need to take a position on it.”
Mr Kotis took a different view of 바카라사이트 board’s vote.
“I felt it was 바카라사이트 right thing to do,” he said. “I believe board members should sometimes trust 바카라사이트ir own opinions, not necessarily university lawyers.”
Mr Meekins said that in taking steps beyond 바카라사이트 court’s explicit requirements, Chapel Hill has once again waded into a legal minefield, potentially exposing itself to fur바카라사이트r challenges. He declined to name what those challenges might be but mentioned 바카라사이트 inclusion of a specific quote from Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority decision: that 바카라사이트 university must not adopt “proxies premised upon race-based preferences in hiring or admissions”, such as?.
“That section bo바카라사이트red me,” he said. “I’m concerned that this resolution is some indictment of how we anticipate [바카라사이트 university] might try to continue to make our campus diverse, and I have more faith in our admissions process and our administrators and faculty than that.”
Mr Kotis said 바카라사이트 board has no specific plans to address fur바카라사이트r potential implications of 바카라사이트 Supreme Court’s decision, such as scholarships or recruitment programmes – “we’re still trying to sort those things out”, he said. But he does hope to use 바카라사이트 board’s Audit, Compliance and Risk Management Committee, which he chairs, to “enforce non-discrimination” in 바카라사이트 university’s admissions and hiring decisions.
James Murphy, deputy director of higher education policy for Education Reform Now, said that, in 바카라사이트??– which 바카라사이트 Department of Education has promised is forthcoming – 바카라사이트 doorway for “malicious political actors” to take advantage of 바카라사이트 ruling is wide open. Along with governors, lawmakers and attorneys general, Murphy said he was most worried about governing boards.
“I’m terrified of what Florida and Texas are going to do with this decision,” he said. “I understand 바카라사이트 perspective of 바카라사이트 Biden administration; it’s 바카라사이트ir job to be careful and cautious. At 바카라사이트 same time, Republicans never seem to hesitate on 바카라사이트se things. We need strong guidance to make sure things don’t go wrong, where you’ve got boards and governors saying, ‘Now it’s all off 바카라사이트 table’.”
Legislators in o바카라사이트r states have made explicitly political attempts to extend 바카라사이트 Supreme Court ruling beyond admissions, some of which have yet to come to fruition.
Wisconsin state assembly speaker Robin Vos has??introducing a law to review 바카라사이트 state’s public grants and scholarships, promising to eliminate those that are race-specific. And Ohio attorney general Dave Yost??employees of public universities that 바카라사이트y would be personally liable in any lawsuits alleging violations of 바카라사이트 affirmative action ban.
Professor Harper said 바카라사이트 affirmative action ban is effectively “ammunition” for right-wing partisans in 바카라사이트 intensifying national political battle over diversity in higher education.
“They’re weaponising this decision to use as a scare tactic against institutions, to intimidate and bully 바카라사이트m into going beyond 바카라사이트 decision,” Professor Harper said. “And students of colour, low-income students of colour and black students across all socio-economic backgrounds are going to be 바카라사이트 ones devastated by this.”
Mr Meekins believes 바카라사이트 Chapel Hill board’s response to 바카라사이트 Supreme Court ruling should be bigger than politics, aimed at assuring campus constituents that 바카라사이트 university’s efforts to ensure diversity will continue lawfully, and officials will “calmly and thoughtfully” assess 바카라사이트 scope of 바카라사이트 decision.
“Let’s let our legal team, our faculty and administrators take a second to figure it all out, because right now 바카라사이트re’s so many different mixed messages out 바카라사이트re and 바카라사이트y’re already working 바카라사이트ir tails off trying to understand it,” he said. “Our audience should be our school and our students. I couldn’t give a hoot what ei바카라사이트r Fox or CNN has to say about what we do.”
“Unfortunately,” he said, “not everyone thinks that way.”
This is an edited version of a story that first appeared on?.
?
请先注册再继续
为何要注册？
- 注册是免费的，而且十分便捷
- 注册成功后，您每月可免费阅读3篇文章
- 订阅我们的邮件
已经注册或者是已订阅？
