AUSTIN (KXAN) — All college campuses are going to be affected by the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended affirmative action.
The Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Texas at Austin protested the ruling at the Texas Capitol on Saturday. They feel somewhat powerless against the country’s highest court, which recently banned college admission considerations based on race.
According to our partners at the Texas Tribune, a potential 25 percent of college admissions for UT Austin could be impacted by the Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action.
The majority of students are admitted based on being in the top 10 percent of their graduating class. However, that still that doesn’t make students protesting over the weekend feel any better about the SCOTUS ruling.
Some feel the students who will be most impacted are those students of color who say affirmative action helped make things more equal.
Joseph Giuliani is going into his freshman year at Austin Community College. He worries how the end of affirmative action will affect his transfer to a potential university like UT Austin.
“I think it [affirmative action] would have helped me because I come from a very low-income family, and that was something that I didn’t have those same opportunities when it comes to extracurriculars, or having those personal tutors, something like those people, the Harvard legacies or people coming from higher income families,” Giuliani said. “I don’t have those same kind of protections…I didn’t have a personal tutor of my own… and now I feel as if I’m not as equal anymore.”
According to The Hill, after the supreme court ruled colleges can’t use race as a factor in admissions consideration, there have been calls from both Democrats and Republicans to end legacy admissions. Legacy admissions allow for those with ties to wealthy d onors or family alumni to get into top schools.
Shortly after the supreme court’s affirmative action ruling, a group called ‘lawyers for civil rights’ filed a complaint against Harvard for legacy admissions. That complaint claims 70 percent of applicants related to wealthy donors are white. And 70 percent of those related to alumni are also white.
The Students for a Democratic Society also recently spoke out about Texas banning Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives on campus.
They’re working on collaborating with other groups on campus to try to make sure their community is diverse even with new changes.