MILWAUKEE — NAACP lawyer William Sulton defines affirmative action like so: “The idea that policies and programs (are necessary) to counteract racial discrimination that is occurring. It is incorrect to say it is designed to solve problems from the past. In fact, effective affirmative action policy has always been tailored to address problems that are currently going on.”
On Thursday, the United States Supreme Court declared affirmative action policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina were unconstitutional. The programs were aimed at increasing the diversity of both respective student populations.
Kyle Wallace is the Director of Content for our sister station, 101.7 The Truth — Milwaukee’s No. 1 Black talk radio station. Before radio, he worked in college admissions. Wallace told WTMJ there is value in college campuses being diverse places.
“Having people come from multitude of places, that diversifies your campus. Whether you’re white, black, Asian or Hispanic, it’s important to have that type of cultural experience on campus because that is exactly what the world looks like. It is important to have that type of cultural experience on campus because that is exactly what the world looks like,” said Wallace.
Wallace used the term ‘political football’ to describe the future of diversity in colleges. He advocated for removing the option for students to select their race when filling out college applications, given the circumstance.
William Sulton holds an optimistic view on affirmative action in colleges. He told WTMJ there are specific reasons the affirmative action plans at Harvard University and UNC were struck down, and it is possible for other colleges to learn from them.
“What the decision says is that two admission policies, specifically the affirmative action parts of those policies, failed to meet the strict scrutiny standard that the court has set. They did not have measurable goals and they did not have a logical endpoint,” said Sulton
Sulton is the NAACP Chair of the Committee for Legal Redress and explicitly stated he believes this ruling is not the end of affirmative action in colleges, but they will have to meet the requirements set by this ruling. Sulton said the NAACP will be discussing with universities how to promote diversity and inclusivity, while abiding with the new precedent.
Regarding the ruling, this statement was given by Mark Pitsch, Director of Media Relations for the University of Wisconsin system: ‘We are reviewing the decision to see what if any impact it may have on our universities. Like others across the country, we will assess next steps surrounding this issue and abide by the law.
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