By Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden on Thursday urged colleges to take into account challenges that applicants face – including racial discrimination – during the admissions process after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race-conscious considerations.
The court struck down race-conscious student admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, in a sharp setback to affirmative action policies often used to increase the number of Black, Hispanic and other underrepresented minority groups on campuses.
“The court effectively ended affirmative action, and I strongly disagree with the court’s decision,” Biden said.
“We cannot let this decision to be the last word,” he added.
Biden said he was directing the U.S. Department of Education to analyze what practices will help build more inclusive and diverse student bodies and what practices impede that goal.
Under a new standard proposed by Biden, applicants would first have to qualify under a college’s academic standards, but then admissions officials would take into account “adversity” criteria, such as financial means, living situations and whether or not the applicant faced racial discrimination.
“The truth is – we all know it – discrimination still exists in America,” Biden said.
The affirmative action ruling is the latest in a string of setbacks on issues that were once considered settled, such as abortion rights, delivered by the conservative-leaning court.
Asked whether the Supreme Court was a rogue court as he was leaving the room, Biden paused, then responded, “This is not a normal court.”
(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Jarrett Renshaw; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
