Published August 23, 2023
CFER Sent an Open Letter to the Federal Government Criticizing Its Guidance Regarding the Students for Fair Admissions Court Ruling
CFER’s statement criticizes three major problems with the guidance: 1. It misrepresents the SFFA court ruling by glossing over the ruling’s major argument and spending extensive space on one sentence in the ruling related to essay writing. 2. It irresponsibly encourages the use of race proxies in college admissions without stating the need for narrow tailoring and at the same time condones the attacks on merit and academic standards. 3. It engages in political overreach and ideological signaling by paying only lip service to the principle of equal justice and overstating the role of race-based practices in boosting diversity.
by
CFER
For Immediate Release
August 23, 2023
SAN DIEGO, CA – August 23, 2023- On August 22nd, the Californians for Equal Rights Foundation (CFER) sent an open letter to the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, condemning the two agencies’ recent joint guidance on the Supreme Court ruling regarding college admissions. Our statement points out that the guidance misrepresents the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. (SFFA) v. Harvard College and SFFA v. University of North Carolina et al. (UNC), while encouraging the continuation of race-preferential practices in American higher education.
“The Biden administration's guidance on college admissions is a direct insult to the Supreme Court ruling. Its approach to misinterpret the ruling will further divide our country by race and dumb downs academic standard,” commented Frank Xu, the president of CFER. “We urge the Federal Government to faithfully embrace the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, enforce federal civil rights laws, and provide equal protection to all Americans.”
CFER’s statement criticizes three major problems with the guidance:
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It misrepresents the SFFA court ruling by glossing over the ruling’s major argument and spending extensive space on one sentence in the ruling related to essay writing.
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It irresponsibly encourages the use of race proxies in college admissions without stating the need for narrow tailoring and at the same time condones the attacks on merit and academic standards.
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It engages in political overreach and ideological signaling by paying only lip service to the principle of equal justice and overstating the role of race-based practices in boosting diversity.
CFER will continue to monitor how institutions of higher education, especially those in California, implement their admissions policies. We will continue to work to ensure the SFFA ruling is observed in practice and take legal as well as administrative actions in cases of violation. We will also continue to strive to educate the public about equal rights through advocacy, research and outreach.
Contact:
Wenyuan Wu
wenyuan.wu@cferfoundation.org
About Californians for Equal Rights Foundation (CFER):
We are a non-partisan and non-profit organization established following the defeat of Proposition 16 in 2020, with a mission to defend and raise public awareness on the cause of equal rights through public education, civic engagement and community outreach. In 1996, California became the first U.S. state to amend its constitution by passing Proposition 209 to ban racial discrimination and preferences. Prop. 209 requires that “the state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.” CFER is dedicated to educating the public on this important constitutional principle of equal treatment.