Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) has recently filed a lawsuit against the US Military Academy, otherwise known as West Point. The allegations state that the academy has been unlawfully using race as a deciding factor during its admissions process. The SFFA has previously been involved in lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC), which resulted in the US Supreme Court effectively putting an end to affirmative action.
The contention of the suit is that West Point violated the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution, as it set ‘benchmarks’ for the percentage of students from certain races that should consist of each class. Specifically, it has identified that African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians were targeted races. Additionally, the lawsuit states that West Point’s reasons for its balancing efforts fall short of passing strict scrutiny.
When considering cases of affirmative action in college admissions, strict scrutiny is the standard of review used. To pass this standard, the discrimination must employ narrowly tailored measures that further a compelling governmental interest. In the case of West Point, SFFA argues that the academy’s justifications for using racial preferences do not pass the stringent measures of strict scrutiny.
The SFFA President, Edward Blum responded to the complaint by arguing that these race-based policies in the admissions process should end in all institutions, irrespective of whether they are military higher education establishments.
Earlier in June, the US Supreme Court effectively put an end to affirmative action in college admissions processes, stating that Harvard and UNC did not pass strict scrutiny. They determined that creating a more diverse education environment, which was the argument made by the schools, did not constitute a compelling interest. Therefore, these processes were deemed as violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
In July, SFFA filed another suit against Harvard, this time asserting that the university’s legacy admissions policy is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.