Скачать или смотреть On Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (2023) - Version 2

This video explores the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (2023) and the deep constitutional divide it revealed over race-conscious college admissions. We examine the reasoning of the majority and concurring Justices, who held that race-based admissions policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The Court concluded that the universities failed to demonstrate that the educational benefits of diversity are defined with sufficient clarity or can be measured in a way that satisfies the demanding standards of constitutional review. In the majority’s view, the lack of concrete goals and endpoints rendered these programs unconstitutional. In contrast, the dissenting Justices argued that the decision disregards the enduring legacy of systemic racism in the United States and the ongoing racial inequalities that remain embedded in society. The dissenters maintained that race-conscious admissions are necessary to address these realities and that diversity in education represents a compelling governmental interest. They defended holistic admissions programs as careful, limited, and responsible policies designed to foster equal opportunity rather than impose racial classifications for their own sake. Finally, the episode addresses a notable feature of the Court’s ruling: its deliberate refusal to decide whether similar race-conscious practices are constitutional at U.S. military academies. The Court acknowledged that the national security context may implicate distinct considerations, leaving that question unresolved. This discussion unpacks the constitutional arguments, the competing visions of equality, and the broader implications of the decision for higher education, civil rights law, and the future of diversity policies in the United States.