Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), the plaintiff in the recent Supreme Court admissions cases, may challenge race-conscious policies at military academies, reported Higher Ed Dive.
Edward Blum, SFFA founder and president, announced that the organization "is exploring the legality of using race at . . . West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy." The statement follows last month's Supreme Court ruling striking down race-conscious admissions practices at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
However, justices explicitly excluded military academies from their ruling. Justice Roberts wrote that no military academy was a party in SFFA's lawsuits and no court had "addressed the propriety of race-based admissions systems in that context." Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent that "national security interests are also implicated at civilian universities." She also noted that the ruling will nonetheless trickle down to colleges that were not a party in the case.
It remains to be seen how military academies will respond to the litigation, Higher Ed Dive reported. Two of the three institutions that Blum noted in his announcement have declined a request for comment.
The U.S. Naval Academy's public affairs office articulated that the "Department of Defense is aware of the Supreme Court decision concerning affirmative action in college admissions. We are currently assessing the decision and its potential impacts on our practices."
Related Links
Higher Ed Dive
https://www.highereddive.com/news/supreme-court-victor-sffa-sets-sights-on-military-academies-race-conscious/686869/
The Chronicle of Higher Education
https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-high-courts-ruling-on-admissions-exempts-military-academies-whats-up-with-that