Today at 11am we're looking at the #SCOTUS case on #affirmativeaction with a panel of expert speakers including @johncyangdc of @Adv_Justice, David Hinojosa of @LawyersComm and Michaele Turnage-Young of @NAACP_LDF. Watch the livestream👉 ethnicmediaservices.org/media-briefing… 
Welcome today's briefing, "Supreme Court Weighs Future of Affirmative Action — What’s At Stake for Students of Color?" Today's moderator is @sunita37.
#SCOTUS is expected to gut race based admissions, setting up a precedent for additional challenges to #affirmativeaction. What does this mean for students of color, asks EMS ED Sandy Close in her opening remarks.
Our first speaker is @johncyangdc of @Adv_Justice, who says it is "too early to tell" what #SCOTUS will do. "We are very concerned," he adds, but we know #affirmativeaction cases have remained despite past challenges.
@johncyangdc says the complaint against Harvard alleges discrimination against Asian Americans. "If we saw discrimination... we would be among those suing Harvard." We and many others looked at the evidence and saw, there was no discrimination.
Discrimination against a particular group is fundamentally different from policies that expand educational opportunity, says Yang.
The incoming cohort at Harvard is 28% Asian American. thecrimson.com/article/2022/7…
One misconception is that APIs don't support Affirmative Action. That is just false, says Yang. Over 2/3 of APIs support Affirmative Action. "It is the minority" that opposed it, he says.
We need to continue to push back on limits to our ability to speak about our race and culture. An admissions policy that ignores our race would silence us to talk about our true identity in our admissions, Yang stresses.
We all benefit from an education system that includes a variety of diversity, Yang says, adding these cases are clear-cut attempts to drive a wedge in the Asian American community.
Yang points to a Georgetown study that shows race blind admissions would lead to a plummeting of African American and Latino enrollment with little difference in Asian American enrollment.
What percentage of students are legacy students, asks @sunita37. About 30%, says Yang. Affirmative Action is such a small piece of admissions," he notes.
Our next speaker is David Hinojosa of @LawyersComm, who will be presenting arguments before #SCOTUS in the UNC case.
Race neutral alternatives to admissions work differently across states, says Hinojosa. The context at UNC includes more than a century of Black exclusion. "You see statues of Confederate soldiers and generals," he notes. One student described it as "racist graffiti."
Among the plaintiff's arguments in the UNC case is that race used as "more than a plus factor" and that UNC did not consider race neutral alternatives in its admissions. The Harvard case is similar with some additional claims about harming white students.
No students, alumni or teachers testified in earlier cases on behalf of the plaintiff, Students for Fair Admissions, in the UNC case. Judges found the claims lacked all merit.
A lot of people are betting against affirmative action, but history, the Constitution, the law and the facts "are on our side," says Hinojosa.
A question about the 250 years of Blacks being blocked out of enrollment. Will any of this be part of the arguments. "It is definitely at the center of the target," says Hinojosa.
They don't want to just get rid of affirmative action, they want to white wash history, says Hinojosa.
Next up is Michaele Turnage-Young of @NAACP_LDF. All students deserve a fair shot of going to college, she says, but many often have less opportunity to amass the credentials colleges consider in admissions.
Inequities in the educational system, as well as standardized testing like the SAT -- which was designed around wealthier white students -- create additional barriers to college enrollment, says Turnage-Young
She points to studies that show clear bias against students of color in the SAT and other standardized tests. As of the 2020-21 school year, Black students were 13.3 percent of high school grads but just over 5% of college enrollees, she notes.
Arguments by the plaintiffs cite expert studies that leave out key information, including the fact that 30% of enrollees were legacy admissions. Some universities are moving to get rid of legacy admissions now.
Erasing race will make it impossible for applicants of color to present their true selves in applications, she notes, quoting a client. "If students cannot even discuss their home reservations... how can they expect to give Harvard admissions a full picture of who they are."
Unfortunately class based affirmative action would not address the systemic racism that affects the educational opportunities of many students of color, says Michaele Turnage-Young.
"Income based policies are insufficient to address the unfairness that is still prevalent because of race," she adds.
Our next speaker is @Sally_Chenpion, of @CAAsanfrancisco, who says her experience growing up as a Chinese American in San Francisco is a fundamental part of who she is. "It is about human dignity and the reality of race in our lives."
Chen was discouraged from sharing her family's immigrant experience, which she says was hurtful and advice she ignored. The application to Harvard resonated with reviewers, she said. Chen is among those who testified in support of Affirmative Action.
The benefit of a Harvard education came through organizing with Black, Latinx and other students, building cross-racial coalitions. "Ultimately, student testimony and organizing was critical." Student voices were missing in this debate, she said.
We wouldn't want to be at an institution that didn't value us, says Chen. While admissions are important, it is just the beginning.
Chen says Campus plaintiff Edward Blum of Students for Fair Admissions is no ally to students of color and that students need to stand out ground. Affirmative action is just the floor, not the ceiling.
What is the impact of a negative #SCOTUS decision for students of color? "Race does matter, and for those who ignore it, they are ignoring our identities," says John C. Yang.
If you wipe away affirmative action, you are wiping away opportunity, says David Hinojosa.
"Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not," says Michaele Turnage-Young.
Student organizing and putting forward proactive demands will be key in the case of a negative ruling, says Chen.
Thanks to all speakers on today's discussion. You can find follow-up reporting on this and past briefings on our website as ethnicmediaservices.org
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