The six conservative justices voted in favor of banning the adoption of the standards, while the three liberal justices voted against, in a decision issued after years of dissatisfaction on the right with programs aimed at ensuring diversity in terms of admissions of students to universities or employees in companies or government institutions.
The text of the decision, which was drafted by Chief Justice John Roberts, stated that “positive discrimination” was “good intentions”, but it could not remain applied indefinitely, and it involved unconstitutional discrimination against others.
“Students should be treated on the basis of their experience as individuals, not on the basis of race,” Roberts was quoted as saying by the French Press Agency.
The court left universities free to take into account applicants’ struggles, such as whether they experienced racial discrimination during their upbringing, in weighing their applications against those of students with stronger academic qualifications.
But Roberts stressed that choosing primarily based on skin color is itself discriminatory.
For his part, US President Joe Biden expressed “extreme disappointment”, criticizing the court’s judges.
“Discrimination still exists in the United States (…) I think our universities are stronger when they are racially diverse,” Biden said.
Court member Judge Sonia Sotomayor accused the majority of being blind to the truth, and considered that “ignoring race will not lead to equality in a racially unequal society.”
“It’s a great day for America,” said Trump, who often sings praises of giving conservatives a majority on the Supreme Court.
On the other hand, Democratic Senator of African descent Cory Booker described the decision as a “devastating blow” to the education system in the United States.
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