# The Supreme Court Is Set to Kill Affirmative Action. Just Not for Rich White Kids.
## Metadata
- Author:: [[Evan Mandery]]
- Full Title:: The Supreme Court Is Set to Kill Affirmative Action. Just Not for Rich White Kids.
- Category: #articles
- Document Tags: [[suppression]]
- URL: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/10/supreme-court-affirmative-action-sffa-harvard-admissions-wealth-legacy-racial-preferences-poison-ivy-book-excerpt/
## Highlights
> By this time, Michael had caught the eye of Ed Blum. Blum is the only person I’ve ever heard of whose [Wikipedia title](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Blum_(litigant)) is “litigant.” He was the architect of [*Shelby County v. Holder*](https://www.justice.gov/crt/shelby-county-decision#:~:text=On%20June%2025%2C%202013%2C%20the,2612%20(2013).), the 2013 Supreme Court decision that eviscerated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and [*Fisher v. University of Texas*](https://www.oyez.org/cases/2012/11-345), a 2016 decision that, but for Antonin Scalia’s untimely death, would have gutted affirmative action. Blum called Michael at Williams, said that he was gathering potential plaintiffs for a lawsuit against Harvard, and asked whether Michael would be willing to serve as their spokesperson. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnf83kkt1nvm7dg979vr1av))
> [*Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard*](https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/students-for-fair-admissions-inc-v-president-fellows-of-harvard-college/) is the most significant challenge to affirmative action in a generation. The court heard oral arguments in the Harvard case and a related University of North Carolina case on October 31. Based on [skeptical questioning](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/us/supreme-court-harvard-unc-affirmative-action.html) by the conservative justices about the meaning and value of campus diversity, among other matters, it is widely expected that they will rule to end affirmative action as we’ve known it for the past half-century ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnf99wkmwrfaxydea5g52p7))
> Like most elite colleges, Harvard also gives [explicit preferences](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/13/us/legacy-admissions-colleges-universities.html) to applicants known in the world of higher education as ALDCs, a group that includes recruited athletes as well as the children of faculty, donors, and alumni—the alumni kids are called “legacies.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnfabreskpwj54bb5r413r9))
> The admit rate for typical applicants to Harvard’s Classes of 2014-19 averaged 5.5 percent, [according to data](http://public.econ.duke.edu/~psarcidi/legacyathlete.pdf) produced in *SFFA v. Harvard*, but the college accepted nearly 34 percent of legacy applicants, 47 percent of faculty kids, and 86 percent of recruited athletes. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnfavqwsjb1ntjkfvyse81z))
> Because so much of the class is set aside for ALDCs, and Asian Americans aren’t regarded as a disadvantaged minority, the competition they face is brutal. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnfc95jmx450bs2x0dzyfmq))
> Arcidiacono testified that if Harvard relied solely on academics, Asian Americans would constitute more than half of its admitted students, as opposed to the current 20 percent. Race might be a plus factor for others, but for Asians it’s a big minus. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnfctffzygk5wdj8trnqp8z))
> “Ordinary’s boring. Extraordinary’s anything but boring. Highly selective colleges don’t want boring. They want extraordinary. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnfh0q2xk9h1f3ecnk68fr5))
>  ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnffe7e47wcq2kfqhfcx7q5))
# The Supreme Court Is Set to Kill Affirmative Action. Just Not for Rich White Kids.
## Metadata
- Author:: [[Evan Mandery]]
- Full Title:: The Supreme Court Is Set to Kill Affirmative Action. Just Not for Rich White Kids.
- Category: #articles
- Document Tags: [[suppression]]
- URL: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/10/supreme-court-affirmative-action-sffa-harvard-admissions-wealth-legacy-racial-preferences-poison-ivy-book-excerpt/
## Highlights
> By this time, Michael had caught the eye of Ed Blum. Blum is the only person I’ve ever heard of whose [Wikipedia title](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Blum_(litigant)) is “litigant.” He was the architect of [*Shelby County v. Holder*](https://www.justice.gov/crt/shelby-county-decision#:~:text=On%20June%2025%2C%202013%2C%20the,2612%20(2013).), the 2013 Supreme Court decision that eviscerated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and [*Fisher v. University of Texas*](https://www.oyez.org/cases/2012/11-345), a 2016 decision that, but for Antonin Scalia’s untimely death, would have gutted affirmative action. Blum called Michael at Williams, said that he was gathering potential plaintiffs for a lawsuit against Harvard, and asked whether Michael would be willing to serve as their spokesperson. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnf83kkt1nvm7dg979vr1av))
> [*Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard*](https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/students-for-fair-admissions-inc-v-president-fellows-of-harvard-college/) is the most significant challenge to affirmative action in a generation. The court heard oral arguments in the Harvard case and a related University of North Carolina case on October 31. Based on [skeptical questioning](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/us/supreme-court-harvard-unc-affirmative-action.html) by the conservative justices about the meaning and value of campus diversity, among other matters, it is widely expected that they will rule to end affirmative action as we’ve known it for the past half-century ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnf99wkmwrfaxydea5g52p7))
> Like most elite colleges, Harvard also gives [explicit preferences](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/13/us/legacy-admissions-colleges-universities.html) to applicants known in the world of higher education as ALDCs, a group that includes recruited athletes as well as the children of faculty, donors, and alumni—the alumni kids are called “legacies.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnfabreskpwj54bb5r413r9))
> The admit rate for typical applicants to Harvard’s Classes of 2014-19 averaged 5.5 percent, [according to data](http://public.econ.duke.edu/~psarcidi/legacyathlete.pdf) produced in *SFFA v. Harvard*, but the college accepted nearly 34 percent of legacy applicants, 47 percent of faculty kids, and 86 percent of recruited athletes. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnfavqwsjb1ntjkfvyse81z))
> Because so much of the class is set aside for ALDCs, and Asian Americans aren’t regarded as a disadvantaged minority, the competition they face is brutal. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnfc95jmx450bs2x0dzyfmq))
> Arcidiacono testified that if Harvard relied solely on academics, Asian Americans would constitute more than half of its admitted students, as opposed to the current 20 percent. Race might be a plus factor for others, but for Asians it’s a big minus. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnfctffzygk5wdj8trnqp8z))
> “Ordinary’s boring. Extraordinary’s anything but boring. Highly selective colleges don’t want boring. They want extraordinary. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnfh0q2xk9h1f3ecnk68fr5))
>  ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gmnffe7e47wcq2kfqhfcx7q5))