Puzzling through SFFA: The Roberts Court, Affirmative Action, and the Backstopping of Minority Rule

• In Event: 21020 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 8: DEI Policies in Education

Abstract

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023) is widely and rightly recognized as a landmark Supreme Court decision. This ruling on the future of race-conscious affirmative action in higher education presents a series of sociological, legal, and political puzzles that have yet to receive the close attention they deserve. This paper examines three of these puzzles: (1) the convoluted and strained legal reasoning of the Supreme Court in its decision to broadly strike down race-conscious affirmative action in admissions; (2) the curious manner in which Asian Americans were involved in the litigation; (3) the ways in which the SFFA decision fits into the broader conversation about the travails of American democracy in our time. This paper grapples with these three interrelated puzzles, drawing on a close reading of the trial record in district court, appellate rulings, the Supreme Court’s SFFA opinions, and relevant precedent; political reporting in a range of newspapers and periodicals; and selected secondary sources in sociology, political science, and the legal academy.

Authors

• Anthony S. Chen, Northwestern University

• Lisa Michele Stulberg, New York University