The Future Effects of Affirmative Action Through the Lens of Recent Supreme Court Case Decisions
Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Advisor
Thomas Loikith
Access Type
Event
Start Date
26-4-2024 9:45 AM
End Date
26-4-2024 10:44 AM
Description
There has always been tension surrounding the topic of affirmative action. In 2023, the United States Supreme Court held that the use of race as a specific basis for admission decisions for higher education was unconstitutional. Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard overruled years of precedent. Since the decision, race has been used as a criterion for other educational settings. It seems inevitable that a challenge will be raised to race-based affirmative action policies in employment. How would this affect us as a society? What should and can be done to minimize if not eliminate, the effects of the Harvard ruling or to limit the effects on the higher education admission process? This is a complex problem requiring interdisciplinary research to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of and possible resolutions of my research problem. I analyze the problem through the disciplines of law and sociology. I use qualitative research methodology and have analyzed court opinions and scholarly sources to find common ground between relevant disciplinary insights. I then seek to integrate such common insights to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding and suggest possible resolutions to my research problem. I have not completed my research and analysis yet however I anticipate doing so by early April. My preliminary research helps me conclude that because employment-related affirmative action is based on a different statutory framework than affirmative action in higher education than education-related, the standard of Harvard should not be extended or applied.
The Future Effects of Affirmative Action Through the Lens of Recent Supreme Court Case Decisions
There has always been tension surrounding the topic of affirmative action. In 2023, the United States Supreme Court held that the use of race as a specific basis for admission decisions for higher education was unconstitutional. Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard overruled years of precedent. Since the decision, race has been used as a criterion for other educational settings. It seems inevitable that a challenge will be raised to race-based affirmative action policies in employment. How would this affect us as a society? What should and can be done to minimize if not eliminate, the effects of the Harvard ruling or to limit the effects on the higher education admission process? This is a complex problem requiring interdisciplinary research to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of and possible resolutions of my research problem. I analyze the problem through the disciplines of law and sociology. I use qualitative research methodology and have analyzed court opinions and scholarly sources to find common ground between relevant disciplinary insights. I then seek to integrate such common insights to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding and suggest possible resolutions to my research problem. I have not completed my research and analysis yet however I anticipate doing so by early April. My preliminary research helps me conclude that because employment-related affirmative action is based on a different statutory framework than affirmative action in higher education than education-related, the standard of Harvard should not be extended or applied.