What's next after affirmative action ruling? Columbia's president says he's worried

Jurisprudence on affirmative action has come full circle for Lee Bollinger and the country.

Bollinger, 77, was Columbia University’s new president two decades ago when the Supreme Court ruled, in Grutter v. Bollinger, that colleges and universities could consider race in their admissions processes.

He ends his tenure Friday, a day after the court ruled schools cannot use race as a factor in their admissions decision-making, effectively gutting Grutter, which stemmed from Bollinger’s turn as University of Michigan’s president.

It was not the outcome – or ending – the departing school leader hoped for.

“The court has really set us on a different path, and I think that's really unfortunate,” Bollinger told Gothamist hours after the decision, which found race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

That path was hardly certain in the immediate aftermath of the 6-3 decision. It was decided in favor of the conservative group Students for Fair Admissions, which argued the schools' race-conscious admissions programs discriminated against Asian students.

The ruling has unleashed an outpouring of concern among New Yorkers who worry the court’s new guidance will close college doors to underrepresented people of color, principally Black and Hispanic students deemed worthy of admission but who underachieve on standardized tests.

At the same time, the ruling was hailed by affirmative action foes, who said it was past time that the Supreme Court put an end to race-conscious admissions.

“New York City Residents Alliance is thrilled to witness the historic end to decades-long discriminatory policies in college admission, which has suppressed hundreds of thousands of Asian youths’ pursuit of the American dream,” the group’s president, Donghui Zang, said.

Bollinger, however, said barring the consideration of race was a mistake.

He said schools will try to retain racial and ethnic diversity, as directed by the court, beginning with the 2028 class. But he pointed to poor results at schools like the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Michigan, where race-based admissions are no longer allowed.

“I think we will fall short for many years to come, unfortunately,” Bollinger said.

Here’s a sampling of other opinion:

Anurima Bhargava, former chief of the Educational Opportunities Section of the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice:

“I think the implications are still going to be unclear. This basically says, ‘You can take account of everything but race.’ There’s only around 200 selective colleges and universities in the United States. And for those universities you’re going to find ways to make sure that what’s so important to their mission, which is that we actually are in spaces where we get exposed to people who are different than us, that we open up pathways to opportunity so that everyone can reach their highest potential, those are things that are going to continue to move forward and I think universities are going to have to figure out in very effective ways how to do that, given the court has taken a tool away from them today.”

Mayor Eric Adams:

“Once again, a highly partisan Supreme Court is overturning decades of precedent in order to advance a purely political agenda. This decision will not only hurt historically disadvantaged communities, it will make many of our educational institutions less diverse, and perpetuate social, racial, and economic inequity. This is a loss for all New Yorkers, and all Americans, but as this country’s largest and most diverse city, New York will not be deterred."

Lourdes M. Rosado, president and general counsel of LatinoJustice PRLDEF:

“As Justice (Sonia) Sotomayor so eloquently stated in her dissent, the Court’s holding ‘subverts’ the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection and will only further entrench racial inequality in education, the bedrock of our democracy. Our Constitution is not color-blind, but the Court’s decision mistakes consideration of our country’s racial history and how it has set in place intractable structures of inequality with unfair treatment. Rejecting decades of precedent that have made meaningful and measurable improvements in opening the gateway of opportunity to more young people, today’s decision could have a profound effect on the futures available to Latinos and other students of color.”

U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, House Democratic leader:

“Right-wing ideologues on the Supreme Court gutted reproductive freedom last year. The very same extremists just obliterated consideration of racial diversity in college admissions. They clearly want to turn back the clock. We will NEVER let that happen.”

Donghui Zang, president of New York City Residents Alliance:

“We thank Mr. Edward Blum (an anti-affirmative action strategist) for his leadership and devotion to equal rights. We also understand that many years of discrimination would not go away overnight. We are, however, determined to fight to the day when all American children are judged on their diligence, intelligence, and capabilities rather than their skin color, for the benefit of America’s younger generation.”

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams:

“For decades, affirmative action has empowered educational institutions to address systemic inequities that have long-prevented Black communities, and people of color more broadly, from accessing the same opportunities as their peers. Today’s Supreme Court decision to strike affirmative action is a loss for our civil rights and the long-standing struggle for justice and equity. It prevents our institutions of higher learning from promoting racial diversity and inclusivity in our classrooms – values that benefit all students. As Justice Sotomayor shared in her dissenting opinion: ‘Ignoring race will not equalize a society that is racially unequal. What was true in the 1860s, and again in 1954, is true today: Equality requires acknowledgment of inequality.’”

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer:

“The Supreme Court's ruling put a giant roadblock in America’s march toward racial justice. The consequences will be felt immediately as students of color will face an admission cycle next year with fewer opportunities. These negative consequences could continue for generations.”

Bethany Li, legal director at Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund:

"It makes me angry to see the Supreme Court wield the Equal Protection Clause in a way completely antithetical to its purpose. The EPC helped desegregate our schools and give students of color including Asian Americans a fighting chance at a good education. The decision today asserts the false myth of color blindness to undermine an important tool to correcting education disparities."

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez

“Today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court will make it more difficult for historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups to access higher education and stands to hamper the progress the country has made toward building a more equitable and just society …. Reducing the diversity of our country’s great universities would have a detrimental impact on the open exchange of ideas that has helped American campuses become catalysts of creativity and powerful engines of progress.”