Hawaii leaders react to SCOTUS ruling on affirmative action in college admissions

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaii leaders are weighing in Thursday on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action in college admissions.

The high court says race cannot be a factor and it’s forcing institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies.

University of Hawaii’s president David Lassner says the decision is “beyond disappointing.”

In a statement released Thursday, Lassner said:

We are now analyzing the Supreme Court ruling and will need to determine if any changes will be required to adhere to the ruling while maintaining our commitments to diversity and equity to meet the educational and workforce needs of Hawaii.

UH Constitutional Law professor Andrea Freeman said she was not surprised about the decision, but was disappointed.

“When we look at other states that where they’ve banned affirmative action already in the state, there has been a decline or drop in students of color I don’t know if that’s something that we’ll see here or not because we are unique,” Freeman said. “Here we have such a diverse population and a lot of people that go to our university are from here.”

Meanwhile, Chaminade University President Dr. Lynn Babington said the university does not consider race in admissions decisions but did not agree with the decision.

“The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling on the use of race as a factor among the considerations for college admission is more than disappointing as the decision ignores the more-than-apparent effects of continued racism in our society. In doing so, this decision undermines the work that higher education has voluntarily taken on for many decades as a solution in a society that provides too few for this social evil.

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono expressed a similar sentiment, saying the high court’s decision has taken the country backwards.

She said in a statement:

Given our country’s long history of racial discrimination and the stark racial inequality that continues to this day, for Justices to focus on whether the benefits of diversity can be measured precisely is shortsighted and detached from reality.

The court’s conservative majority effectively overturned cases reaching back 45 years in invalidating admissions plans at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, the nation’s oldest private and public colleges, respectively.

The decision, like last year’s momentous abortion ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, marked the realization of a long-sought conservative legal goal in finding that race-conscious admissions plans violate the Constitution and a law that applies to recipients of federal funding, as almost all colleges and universities are.

Those schools will be forced to reshape their admissions practices, especially top schools that are more likely to consider the race of applicants.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.