Oklahoma City, OK- Attorney General John O’Connor today filed a brief in support of the Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) asking the United States Supreme Court to rule that race-based college admissions are unconstitutional.
In the filing, Attorney General O’Connor argues that federal law prohibits universities, including Harvard College and the University of North Carolina, from discriminating against Asian-American applicants in their admissions processes, and that discrimination on the basis of race in higher education admissions is unlawful.
“Racial discrimination is entirely unacceptable and wrong,” said Attorney General O’Connor. “Dividing applicants into racial and ethnic groups will foster stereotypes, bitterness, and division among the American people. This is intolerable in a free society. I urge the Supreme Court to overturn Grutter v. Bollinger and to end these discriminatory practices.”
Although during the 2014 trial the SFFA showed evidence that revealed Asian-American applicants were admitted at rates lower than others with similar academic achievement, both the federal court and an appeals court ruled in favor of Harvard. In 2021, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court’s ruling. The Supreme Court has since agreed to hear the case.
Attorney General O’Connor argues that the Supreme Court should right the wrong of the lower court and rule that race-based discrimination in college admissions are unconstitutional.
Oklahoma banned the consideration of race in university admissions in 2012. Since then, universities in Oklahoma have been able to maintain diverse and thriving campuses without engaging in racial discrimination like Harvard and UNC.
Attorney General O’Connor was joined on the brief by attorneys general from 18 other states.
Read the brief here: LINK.
