The Supreme Court ruled today that the race-based admissions programs that have long been used by elite universities to increase diversity among their student bodies were unlawful under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The ruling — decided 6-3 along ideological lines — upended decades of jurisprudence and would very likely drastically reshape the college admissions process.
“This was a momentous decision,” my colleague Anemona Hartocollis, who covers higher education, told me. “We don’t know exactly how it will play out, except that we know that the traditional way of doing things is over.”
At the center of the decision were the admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion, said the two programs “cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the equal protection clause,” arguing that they “involve racial stereotyping” in a manner that violated the Constitution.
The five other conservative justices signed on to Roberts’s opinion, while the three liberal justices dissented. In a rare move that signals profound disagreement, Justice Sonia Sotomayor summarized her dissent from the bench: “The devastating impact of this decision cannot be overstated,” she wrote.
Schools will now be forced to scramble to revise their admissions plans, but the future of admissions criteria is far from decided. Roberts emphasized in his opinion that universities could still consider how race has affected a student’s life — a topic they may write about in an application essay, for example — but he warned schools not to use such considerations as a surreptitious means of racial selection. Some schools are expected to use other measures, such as socioeconomic status or ZIP codes, to advance diversity.
Still, the Supreme Court’s ruling is expected to lower the number of Black and Latino students at elite undergraduate campuses, as well as at law schools and in other graduate programs.
“Especially at the most selective schools, people are predicting that there is going to be an immediate impact on Black and Latino enrollment,” Anemona said. “Whether they can climb back from that is the next question.”
Conservative leaders celebrated the decision, calling it a step toward ending racial bias and discrimination in education. President Biden assailed it: In a televised address this afternoon, he said the country could not allow the ruling to be “the last word” on the issue of affirmative action.
Tomorrow, two other important cases — on student loans and on gay rights — are expected to be decided.
Smoke and heat smothered the U.S.
Smoke from raging Canadian wildfires stretched from the Midwest to the East Coast today, bringing unhealthy air conditions to Pittsburgh, Detroit, Washington and several other cities. At the same time, an oppressive heat wave drove temperatures dangerously high in the South, creating worrying conditions for tens of millions of Americans. The heat index — a measure of how hot the air feels — is forecast to approach 120 degrees in several locations from Missouri to Florida over the next few days.
Your forecast: See how the smoke and heat will affect your area.
Putin is projecting normalcy, but problems remain
Vladimir Putin last night made a highly choreographed — and rare — public outing, shaking hands with well-wishers. Today he joked onstage at a technology fair in Moscow — an apparent projection of normalcy, even as the circumstances surrounding General Sergei Surovikin were still very murky. U.S. officials said that Russian authorities appeared to have detained Surovikin under suspicion that he was involved in or had knowledge of the planning for the Wagner Group’s failed rebellion.
A painful mystery
Dozens of women seeking to become mothers went to the Yale Fertility Center for a surgical procedure called egg retrieval — and it caused them excruciating pain. Some of the women screamed out in the procedure room, while others pleaded for more medication or at least more answers. But there was no obvious explanation.
A new podcast from Serial Productions and The Times examines the shocking events that unfolded at the clinic, and explores how we, as a society, treat women’s pain.
Listen to the first episode, which was released today.
A diminished music competition in Russia
Every four years, the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia typically becomes the center of the classical music world, gathering many of the most talented pianists, violinists and singers from around the globe.
But as the competition — the first since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — unfolds this month, it has drawn far fewer international participants and is struggling to live up to its reputation.
A cure for hangovers?
For generations, people have been trying to find the perfect remedy for a night of drinking. Some go for Alka-Seltzer; others opt for a substantial breakfast. But in recent years, a new luxury solution has taken hold: an IV drip spiked with headache relief and anti-nausea medications.
Many researchers have expressed skepticism that IVs can really “cure” a hangover, yet the industry has begun to boom. Some companies — which charge more than $1,000 per IV — will set up drips at your home or office. Fans of the service will even turn to it without drinking, comparing the drips to a post-marathon massage.
Have a restorative evening.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew
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