{"id":1147,"date":"2024-05-09T14:13:55","date_gmt":"2024-05-09T18:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journal.sanford.duke.edu\/?post_type=article&p=1147"},"modified":"2024-08-22T14:17:29","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T18:17:29","slug":"banning-legacy-admission-process-in-higher-education","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/journal.sanford.duke.edu\/article\/banning-legacy-admission-process-in-higher-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Power Analysis \u2013 Banning Legacy Admission Process in Higher Education"},"content":{"rendered":"

Executive Summary<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2023, the Supreme Court deemed race-conscious Affirmative Action unconstitutional in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc (SFFA) <\/em>v Harvard <\/em>and Students for Fair Admissions <\/em>v UNC<\/em>, leading to a potential decrease of racial-ethnic candidates being admitted to higher education institutions. This outcome can be mitigated via legislation that prohibits unfair admission practices that favor white, rich higher education applicants: legacy admissions. Recently, a legislative proposal to ban the legacy admissions process was introduced in the House and Senate. There are several stakeholders acting as supporters and opponents of banning legacy admissions. The following information will be a critical analysis of the stakeholders to understand focus on the feasibility of Congress implementing a policy that bans legacy admissions.<\/p>\n

SCOTUS Decision Opens Question of Race in Higher Education<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Race-conscious Affirmative Action increased the admission rates of underrepresented groups in higher education. \ufffc However, some opponents viewed it as a discriminatory practice. This led to the SFFA <\/em>v Harvard and SFFA <\/em>v UNC<\/em>. <\/em>In these two cases, the Supreme court ruled that race conscious Affirmative Action within the higher education admissions process violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th<\/sup> Amendment.<\/em> These rulings create the danger of decreasing acceptance rates for racial-ethnic students in U.S. colleges and universities. In the past, states that banned race-conscious Affirmative Action experienced a decline in the number of admitted racial-ethnic students.[1]<\/a>For example, from 1997-2017 universities in California have seen a 30-40 percent decrease in racial-ethnic studentsenrolling in higher education.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0One policy alternative to this problem is a socio-economic form of Affirmative Action to maintain diversity in higher education admissions.[3]<\/a> However, a large flaw with utilizing this alternative is that it can potentially exclude middle class Black, Brown, Asian, and Native American applicants if these students do not meet a low socio-economic status.[4]<\/a> To avoid this issue, Congress can enact Senate Bill 2524 and House Bill 6559, the Fair College Admissions Students Act (FCASA). Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Jamaal Bowman introduced the FCASA to prohibit universities nationwide from utilizing legacy admissions.[5]<\/a> This bill would ban the usage of legacy admissions on the grounds of denying higher education opportunities from students of color in favor of white, wealthy applicants.<\/p>\n

Analysis of Policy Influencers: Banning Legacy Admissions in Higher Education <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Supporters of Banning Legacy Admissions<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Shortly after the Supreme Court\u2019s rulings of SFFA v Harvard and SFFA <\/em>several decision makers from the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) spoke out about the unfair advantage legacy admissions provides those with wealth. On July 11th, 2023, the House of Representatives held a session to discuss the impact of the Supreme Court\u2019s rulings. Congressman Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) argued that legacy applicants receive a significant advantage in the higher education admissions process. According to Forbes Magazine, Congressman Jackson stated that at Harvard University, approximately 42% of admitted students were donor-related applicants and 34% were legacy admissions.[6]<\/a> Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, a ranking member of the Committee on Education and Workforce, along with other members from the CBC share the sentiment that unequal admissions of legacy students disproportionately reduce the opportunities of Black students accepted into higher education institutions. [7]<\/a> The CBC would support the passage of FCASA as a policy proposal to build more diverse student admissions in higher education.<\/p>\n

Several other members of Congress support the ban of legacy admissions at colleges and universities. Forty-three Democrats from both the House and Senate have signed to sponsor the bill. Powerful members in the Committee on Education and Workforce who could move this bill forward also signed as cosponsors[8]<\/a>:<\/p>\n