A California bill would allow educational institutions to give preference to applicants who are descendants of slaves while making admission decisions, and it’s starting to pick up steam.
Assembly Bill 7 — known as the “reparations” bill — says that: “The California State University, the University of California, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions may consider providing a preference in admissions to an applicant who is a descendant of slavery, as defined, to the extent it does not conflict with federal law.”
It passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 11-2 last week, following its approval by the state Assembly, The College Fix reported.
Lance Christensen, vice president of government affairs and education policy at the California Policy Center, said the bill “looks to be an underhanded approach at racial preferences,” during an interview with LAist earlier this month.
“I think we’re getting close to the place where we should stop race-baiting a lot of our bills,” he added. “This is not one of those places where I think that we should focus our time and attention.”
This legislation is likely to face a litany of legal challenges, especially in light of the Supreme Court’s 2023 rulings in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina.
The high court held that affirmative action practices violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
In a 6-3 ruling, the six conservatives were led by Chief Justice John Roberts, while the three liberals dissented. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson recused herself from the Harvard ruling, due to her service on a board for the university.
“The student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual — not on the basis of race,” the opinion stated.
Will this bill survive court challenges?
Roberts added, “Many universities have for too long done just the opposite. And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”
The Californians for Equal Rights Foundation is reportedly opposing the bill, saying that it would result in “de facto racial preferences without facilitating any meaningful changes.”
Harvard — and other universities — have signaled a willingness to defy court rulings on the matter by taking advantage of loopholes wherever they can find them.
“The Court also ruled that colleges and universities may consider in admissions decisions ‘an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise,’” Harvard said in a statement following the SCOTUS decision.
Academia and liberal activists can’t accept the idea of competition or fair play. They equate it with a capitalist system of oppression, rather than a healthy measuring stick of achievement.
The only competition they seem interested in is who can be the biggest victim. It’s a race to see who can claim the most privilege based on race, sexual orientation, gender, and dozens of other categories that have little to do with performance.
Merit should always be the benchmark. If you have the grades, extracurricular activities, impressive test scores, and character, that should be enough to draw from.
Just like advocates of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, supporters of AB 7 seek to put victimhood on a pedestal.
This story also comes as far-left Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii admitted earlier this week, that part of DEI includes “forcing diversity” upon the population.
During a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing Wednesday, she claimed the Constitution “does not bar diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
“The continental U.S. was created by Europeans who migrated to this place, and founded a nation pretending that there were not millions of people who already lived here before Columbus, so-called, discovered America,” she said, smirking. “This country was built by the work of slaves.”
Democrats continue to cry foul about bias and racism, but then take away opportunities from individuals based on the color of their skin, not the content of their character.
Martin Luther King Jr. must be spinning in his grave.
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