NYS Fair College Admissions Act: a pushback of anti-DEI policies
The U.S. Supreme Court’s audacious move to strike down affirmative action in the admissions process prompted New York State officials to strike back at “privileged” legacy admissions, which have been in practice since the 1920s.
New York has the largest number of institutions in the country that consider legacy status in the admissions process—at least 42% compared to the 28% of schools across the country. Schools like Fordham, Syracuse, Sarah Lawrence, Bard, Columbia, and Cornell University take legacy into consideration with admission, but City University of New York (CUNY) and State University of New York (SUNY) colleges don’t.
Up until 2023, the ruling in the Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College case had ensured greater diversity in private post-secondary schools for Black, Brown, and Indigenous students of color. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote a strong dissenting opinion in favor of affirmative action.
The racial reckoning of 2020 ushered in a wave of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in government, education, and workplaces that centered the advancement of people of color. And in standard American fashion, a conservative backlash against racial progress has led to relentless right-wing activists with wealthy donors that want to dismantle DEI.
RELATED: OP-ED: Anti-DEI campaigns are part of a 170-year-old cycle of racial advancement and backlash
Plenty of modern civil rights activists consider this racist anti-DEI playbook old hat at this point and are ready to counter with their own policies.
Assemblywoman Latrice Walker is leading the charge to ban legacy admissions in New York for two years with the Fair College Admissions Act (A1423A/S4170A). She said she’s proud to be the bill’s sponsor.
“I represent communities in Central and Eastern Brooklyn like Brownsville and Ocean Hill, and parts of East Flatbush, Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant. These are communities in which most of the public-school students are Black or Brown,” Walker said. “These students deserve equal access to a college education. The Fair College Admissions Act seeks to level the playing field for low-income and working-class families who want to send their children to college in New York. It will eliminate the structural barriers created by legacy admissions policies, which tend to reward connected and affluent white students and discriminate against first-generation students and students of color.”
According to the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), affirmative action in college admissions helps young people of color, likely impacted by redlining and school segregation, to get a college degree. And a quality post-secondary education is key to reducing the racial wealth gap.
Legacy preferences in college admissions have racist and antisemitic origins and were an effort to maintain a primarily white, male, and Protestant student body at prestigious institutions, according to NYCLU.
“Imagine lining up to run a 100-meter race. But first, your legs are tied together and a boulder is strapped to your back,” Walker said in a statement. “Then your competitors get to start the race 15 meters ahead of you. The starting gun goes off and despite your best efforts and years of training, you have no chance of winning the race. That is legacy admissions in a nutshell. Eliminate these structural barriers. Take the boulders off the backs of our young people and let them compete for admission to the colleges of their choice.”
The bill ban against legacy admissions would also put the money for any penalties incurred for violating the ban towards tuition assistance awards to eligible undergraduate students. Schools can ask applicants about legacy status after they are admitted and have received financial aid.
The legacy admission ban has gained some support in other states, namely Maryland, Virginia, and Colorado. Similar measures have been debated in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Minnesota so far.
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
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