The Demise of Diversity in College Admissions

May 17, 2023 1 min read

By Mark Mutz, Richard Gunderman
Heterodox Academy

Excerpt: Most observers expect that later this year the U.S. Supreme Court will rule that race-conscious admissions programs at universities are unlawful. A ruling of this kind has the potential to clarify the tangled jurisprudence regarding affirmative action in higher education. It also has the potential to begin to reduce the concern and confusion about diversity besetting American institutions.

In oral arguments last fall, Justice Clarence Thomas observed that he had heard the word “diversity” used many times, but he did not have a clue what it meant. Thomas is not alone. It often obfuscates more than it clarifies. Some of this is intentional, but much is the result of confusion about the nature of diversity itself.

Click here for link to full article

Leave a comment


Also in National Free Speech News & Commentary

House Republicans Finalize Plan to Increase Endowment Tax Up to 21%

May 13, 2025 1 min read

Jessica Blake
Inside Higher Ed 

Excerpt: House Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee released the full version of a long-awaited tax bill Monday that does for higher ed exactly what they suggested it would in a draft version Friday: dramatically increase the excise tax on wealthy colleges’ endowments.

If the legislation passes, the tax rate for each institution would range from 1.4 to 21 percent, depending on the size of its endowment and the number of students it enrolls, according to the 339-page bill. As with the existing endowment tax, the increases would apply only to private institutions.

Read More
Garber Condemns Federal Grant Disqualification but Says Harvard Shares ‘Common Ground’ With McMahon

May 12, 2025 1 min read

Dhruv T. Patel and Grace E. Yoon
Harvard Crimson

Excerpt: Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 reaffirmed in a Monday letter that the University would not bow to interference from the Trump administration — even as he suggested Harvard and the government “share common ground.”

In a three-page message addressed to United States Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, who announced one week ago that the Trump administration would no longer issue any grants or contracts to Harvard, Garber defended Harvard’s record on antisemitism and doubled down on the University’s refusal to concede to what he called an unlawful attempt to shape its core values.

Read More
Court Orders Release of Tufts Foreign Student Detained For Her Speech

May 10, 2025 1 min read

Ilya Somin
Volokh Conspiracy, Reason Magazine

Excerpt: Yesterday, federal District Judge William K. Sessions, III, of the District of Vermont ordered the immediate release of Tufts graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk, whom ICE had detained and slated for deportation based on her anti-Israel speech. 

In earlier posts on this topic, I have urged universities to file lawsuits challenging Trump's speech-based deportation policy, rather than letting students like Ozturk fend for themselves. I was happy to see that many schools (including my undergraduate alma mater Amherst College) filed an amicus brief supporting a lawsuit brought against the policy by the American Association of University Professors  (the court recently issued a preliminary ruling in favor of AAUP, allowing the case to go forward). But universities should do more to protect their students.

Read More