Ayana Parsons’ Post

We must be vigilant as a nation to not go backward. Here is one of the causes and effects of removing affirmative action from college admission. "Less than three months after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, the ruling is doing pretty much exactly what experts said it would at top schools." #diversity #equity #inclusion #education #nextgeneration #dismantleracism

For MIT's incoming class of 2028, about 16 percent of students are Black, Hispanic, Native American and Pacific Islander, compared with about 25 percent in recent years. There are similar declines at other universities. There's a lot of finger pointing in this article. But like most systemic inequities, there is not one person or institution to blame. This is absolutely a disastrous consequence of the Affirmative Action ban. It's also the result of institutions failing to dismantle structural racism in recruiting, and the need for state and federal policymakers to work together to promote racial equity through college affordability. This is also the result of longstanding barriers in K-12, that #shutout bright and eager students of color from accessing rigorous STEM courses. We have to do better. Learn more in this report from EdTrust: https://lnkd.in/e_XH6FSP

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey recently made a change to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in schools, universities, and state agencies. Exploring options outside the state could benefit families and students in Alabama and Florida who are looking for places that embrace diversity. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are essential in empowering minority students through education, building a tight-knit community, and developing leadership abilities within a supportive setting. These institutions are crucial for American students' career achievements, serving as important hubs for preserving and advancing culture. Also, institutions like the University of California Berkeley, Illinois State University, and the University of Michigan are known for their commitment to diversity and inclusion. These schools support programs to create an academic environment for students from various backgrounds and equip all students to thrive in a multicultural society. Borders or laws should not limit the pursuit of knowledge. #ExpandHorizons #DiversityMatters #ExploreOptions #EmbraceInclusion  https://lnkd.in/gnYDkTBa #LearnWithoutLimits #InclusiveEducation #YesHBCU #YesBerkeley #YesISU #YesUMich

Some elite colleges and universities are experiencing decreases in racial and ethnic diversity in admissions after the Supreme Court’s anti-affirmative action decision in 2023. This year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced a 15 percentage point decrease in Black and Hispanic students. Amherst experienced an 8 percentage point decrease in Black students and a 4 percentage point decrease in Hispanic students. While some schools saw decreases, others – like the University of Virginia, Duke, and Yale – experienced little to no change. While experts caution against drawing broad conclusions based on the small set of schools who have released data thus far, early analysis of the data points to the importance of developing race-neutral policies targeted to recruiting under-represented minorities. Duke and UVA both announced ambitious financial aid programs for low income students in this past admissions cycle. Yale began using place-based data mapping to better evaluate applicants from under-resourced areas. For more information, check out this article from the Inside Higher Ed on how banning affirmative action is affecting diversity in higher education: https://lnkd.in/eCnhhH4d [Written by Leila W.] EthicalTech@GW’s Advancing Diversity in Education Initiative provides educational resources and studies the impact of SFFA v. Harvard on diversity initiatives. Follow us on Linkedin to stay up to date. 

Black Conservative Federation Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was perhaps the leading voice of uncompromising conservatism on the nation's highest court. When he addressed Affirmative Action, his "sin" was suggesting that black students admitted to the most selective institutions might perform better at somewhat less selective institutions. While Scalia didn’t express himself as gracefully as he could have, his perspective stemmed not from random intuition but from research showing that a substantial number of black students would do better – and be happier – at schools less selective than the ones they are often admitted to via racial preferences. Minorities are often less prepared for the pace of teaching at tippy-top schools because of the societal factors that dismay us all: quality of schooling, parents denied good education themselves, complex home lives. Black conservatives have been leading efforts in economic growth, criminal justice reform, and choice-based education reform that improves school quality and reduces community-based disparities in opportunity. The question is: Should we have been responding to the societal factors by nonetheless placing minorities in schools or positions beyond what they are prepared for? The data suggest this harms more than it helps, and that is not a racist observation in the least. Here’s what happens on the ground. At the University of California, San Diego in the late 1990s, exactly one black student out of 3,268 made honors. The University was then forced to stop using affirmative action in admissions. A few years later, students who once would have been “mismatched” to flagship schools like UC Berkeley were now admitted to schools such as UC San Diego, one in five black freshmen were making honors, the same proportion as their white counterparts. What civil rights leader of the past would have seen this as racism? Who in the future will? Why are we tarring SCOTUS conservatives as bigots for espousing outcomes like this in the here and now? Our national conversation on racial preferences is extremely under-informed when founded on an assumption that anyone who seriously questions racial preferences is naive at best and a racist at worst. Affirmative action is a complex matter upon which reasonable minds will differ. With the well-being of young people of color at stake, we can’t afford to pretend otherwise. We must also accept that there is are common concerns about the potential pitfalls of using DEI's identity-based criteria in policy-making. *In her opinion in Grutter v. Bollinger, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor concluded that affirmative action in college admissions was justifiable, but not in perpetuity: “We expect that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest [in student body diversity] approved today.” That statement was made about 20 years ago...

Harvard University has reported a decrease in Black freshman enrollment this year, following a Supreme Court ruling that banned race-conscious affirmative action in college admissions. Black students now make up 14% of Harvard's first-year class, down from 18% last year. Similar declines have been noted at other elite institutions like MIT, Tufts, and Brown. While some schools like Princeton and Yale have maintained Black student enrollment levels, the overall trend shows a drop in several top colleges. The impact of the ruling on diversity is still being assessed, and experts are concerned about its implications for minority representation in higher education. Some schools are attempting to address these changes through increased outreach and holistic admissions policies. I think ot is crucial for institutions to develop new strategies to ensure diverse representation and inclusion. White, Brown, Black- we all have to collectively progress. “sabka saath, Sabka Vikaas’.

Throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, President-elect Donald Trump railed against colleges and universities for being too expensive, too partisan and too “woke.” Trump’s anti-elite, anti-immigration tone channeled the frustrations of many working-class Americans — and led him to a decisive win at the polls. So, with Trump returning to the White House for a second term, how much of his higher education message is rhetoric and how much is potential policy? And what comes next for students and colleges? As we wrap up this election year season, GBH and The Hechinger Report explore how college may change under a new Trump administration and ask a simple question: what comes next on campus? We hear from Michael Brickman, who worked as a senior advisor in the U.S. Department of Education during Trump’s first term, and Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, the nation’s biggest association of colleges and universities. Then, Jennifer Thornton with the Business-Higher Education Forum and Maria Flynn with Jobs for the Future (JFF) explain why on-the-job training through apprenticeships is one policy likely to move forward quickly in a second Trump administration. We also hear from students who backed Trump and those who fear his return to the Oval Office, including Janson Wu with The Trevor Project, who tells us a second Trump term could have a significant impact on LGBTQ college students. https://lnkd.in/eXiEMWCy PRX Cato Institute American Enterprise Institute Inside Higher Ed Harvard University Byron Auguste NPR

The recent Supreme Court decision to strike down affirmative action in college admissions is starting to have a significant impact on students' application approaches. At some of the nation's most selective universities, including Stanford, Harvard, and Princeton, more students in the incoming 2024 freshman class are opting not to indicate their race on applications. This trend, which began in 2023, has raised questions about the ruling's long-term effects on diversity in higher education. The Defender spoke with Dr. Bequita Pegram, a History Lecturer at Prairie View A&M University, who sees the reasons behind this shift as clear. Students are worried about facing discrimination. The data shows a decline in the enrollment of Black and Hispanic students at some universities, while others have seen increases. The question remains: Can colleges create diverse campuses without knowing the racial backgrounds of their students? What are your thoughts on this issue? How do you think universities can maintain diverse student bodies without self-reported racial data? https://lnkd.in/g2822jDJ #collegeadmissions #diversity #affirmativeaction #raceincollege #studentapplications

Florida has been nefarious in its implementation of SB266, which states public universities must not use state dollars to fund DEI initiatives. The language of SB266 was broad, so the implementation was passed off to the Board of Governors, who, instead of providing oversight, amplified the intent of the bill. Not only are DEI programs being dismantled, but campus activism has been stifled as well, as social topics "polarize or divide society among" certain beliefs. The harm does not just cover social spaces but the academic space as well, as the Florida State Board of Ed happily hacked into the curriculum and cut the "radically woke" course Principles of Sociology. I've been seriously concerned about UNF for a while, but also, of course, I'm concerned about UF. Over a year ago, the Florida Board of Governors installed Ben Sasse, the adorable, smiling U.S. Senator from Nebraska who spoke against Trump while in the Senate, to lead UF. While Sasse seems well-adjusted, when it comes to the issue of student rights and equality, this person -- who was installed "in consultation with an outside consultant" in such a way that the UF Faculty Senate subsequently approved a formal no-confidence vote -- is very unlikely to put up resistance against the state's initiatives to harm LGBTQ+ students. So, with that context, I can share that The University of Florida has dismissed all DEI employees and eliminated their roles in order to stay in compliance with SB 266:

According to this article from the New York Times, Black student enrollment at Harvard and other universities is down after the Supreme Court overturned its previous Affirmative Action decision. The article later says it is nuanced, but make no mistake, Affirmative Action was put into place to address discrimination and structural barriers that impact people along the lines of race and gender (ACLU.org) and the ruling has absolutely affected students. To learn more about Affirmative Action and why it is important, check out our Let's Talk post on our website or our Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gBgyNyqw https://lnkd.in/g2p8VUak #InclusiveCultureStrategist #InclusiveCultureStrategy