America’s most elite universities have factored race into admissions for years now. Cornell University, for example, lists diversity and inclusion as one of its core values. In fact, the concept of admitting students from different backgrounds is rooted in Cornell’s motto. As Cornell’s founder Ezra Cornell said, “I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.” From the beginning, Cornell has been open to students of all races. In recent decades, Cornell and the other Ivy Leagues and elite universities have used affirmative action policies to boost their numbers of black and Hispanic students. Racial diversity is not just a concept they give nominal respect to; it is a core facet of these institutions’ identities.
Now that the Supreme Court has ruled against affirmative action in higher education, deeming race-based admissions policies unconstitutional, Cornell and the other elite universities across the nation will have to abandon their current race-based admissions policies. But it’s unlikely that any of them will abandon their goal of pursuing woke diversity. So how do they move forward?
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