In a 6-2 vote this morning, the Supreme Court has upheld the Michigan ballot initiative to ban racial preferences in admissions to public universities. This vote overturned a lower court ruling.
The Supreme Court’s decision impacts the diversity efforts of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who has been under fire for dwindling minority enrollment.
The controversial Proposal 2, passed in 2006, allowed the banning of affirmative action. The NAACP challenged this act, stating it unfairly rigs admission systems against minority students.
“Minority students and others who support a broadly diverse student body should not have to overturn a constitutional amendment simply to have their voices heard in the admissions process when everyone else can go directly to the university,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in a fact sheet about the case.
In opposition of the ruling, Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted in her dissent that “without checks, democratically approved legislation can oppress minority groups. ”
“For that reason, our Constitution places limits on what a majority of the people may do,” she continued. “This case implicates one such limit: the guarantee of equal protection of the laws.”