Although still divided by racial lines, more than two-thirds of Americans (68%) say ending the use of race in college admissions is "mostly a good thing," according to a new Gallup Center on Black Voices poll.
By race, Black Americans are only slightly in favor of ending race-based preferences for college admissions, with 52% saying the ruling was a good decision, as opposed to 65% for Asians, 68% for Hispanics, and 72% for whites.
In contrast, 48% of blacks view the decision negatively with 48% saying it will be "mostly a bad thing" compared to 38% of Asians, 32% of Hispanics, and 28% of whites.
The use of Affirmative Action in college admissions was deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in June in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard case. In a 6-3 decision, the justices ruled against Harvard and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, saying they had violated the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection.
"Both programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority.
"We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today. At the same time, as all parties agree, nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant's discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise."
One facet of the decision that all races seem to agree on is that the Supreme Court's decision is likely to result in less diversity on campus.
Although Asians were the ethnic group most negatively impacted by race-based admissions, they were more likely than others to believe diversity on campus will decrease at 57%, followed by Blacks at 49%, Hispanics at 36%, and whites at 37%.
The survey comes at a time when colleges are struggling with enrollment, with an 8% drop from 2019 to 2022 and over million fewer students since peak enrollment in 2011.
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