Durbin Statement on Supreme Court Rejecting Affirmative Action in College Admissions

ROCKFORD – Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina:

“I’m disappointed in the Supreme Court’s ruling effectively barring the use of race as a factor in college admissions. The Court’s conservative majority just upended nearly 50 years of established precedent in a move that undermines the progress our country has made advancing racial justice.

“America’s ever-evolving commitment to the fundamental right to live free from discrimination requires us to acknowledge historical wrongs. Tearing down support for historically marginalized populations makes our country less equal, not more.

“The impact of this decision will be felt immediately, as universities struggle to adapt to a troubling new reality that ignores the compelling and valuable interest of diversity in a student body — and students of color will face admissions cycles that devalue their lived experience in America.”

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