EDITORS' CORNER
Key Takeaways
- Edward Blum, founder of Students for Fair Admissions, advocates for Republican lawmakers to support measures that would help permanently end race-based college admissions
- Blum argues universities still use covert proxies for affirmative action, such as weighting ZIP codes and targeting certain high schools
- Blum believes mandating transparency in admissions practices will enhance trust in the process by showing admissions are based on merit, not race, and proposes penalties for non-compliance
The conservative lawyer known for leading the legal effort to dismantle affirmative action policies in the United States is urging Republican lawmakers to get behind President Donald Trump to help truly end race-based admissions once and for all.
Edward Blum, president of the American Alliance for Equal Rights and founder of Students for Fair Admissions, argued in a recent op-ed that campuses still use covert ways and various proxies to conduct affirmative action despite Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the 2023 Supreme Court decision that banned the practice.
“Examples include giving extra weight to ZIP Codes or census blocks with heavily minority populations or awarding large boosts for attending certain majority-minority high schools. Other proxies include ‘neighborhood wealth index’ scores and targeted recruitment from racially homogeneous areas,” he wrote in a mid-August op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.
A recent one-two punch from the Trump administration to force colleges and universities to open the books on their admissions practices must be enshrined into law, Blum argued.
A July 29 memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi told all federal agencies to stop using any “unlawful proxies” such as “cultural competence requirements,” geographic targeting, or “overcoming obstacles” narratives or diversity statements.
The memo states “it is meant to offer guidance and ‘best practices’ to any entities that receive federal funds” and is “non-binding,” EdSource reported.
“Bondi’s memo goes into further detail by stating that asking applicants about cultural competence, lived experience or obstacles overcome are all potentially problematic proxies for race or ethnicity. The memo also states that targeting students by geography, diversity and first-generation or socioeconomic status can also be unlawful. Bondi gives examples of what are believed to be unlawful practices, such as a BIPOC-only study lounge, workshops for underrepresented minorities or the practice of ensuring hiring pools are diverse,” it reported.
Blum, in his op-ed, also cited an Education Department announcement in early August that colleges and universities must become more transparent about their admissions practices by submitting to the agency detailed admissions data — including race, gender, standardized test scores, and GPAs of applicants, as well as admitted and enrolled students.
“To prevent the next president from reversing Mr. Trump’s directive, Congress should codify it into law,” Blum wrote of the transparency order.
“Legislation should mandate annual public summaries and downloadable, anonymized application data for independent research. It should establish uniform definitions and meaningful penalties for institutions that fail to comply,” Blum wrote in his op-ed.
“Admissions transparency will benefit schools by showing they admit students based on merit, not skin color. Families will be able to see exactly what it takes to earn a place at a school. That knowledge is the foundation of trust and fairness,” he added.
The Wall Street Journal, in a Aug. 24 article, reported that racial proxies in admissions are Trump’s next big higher education battle, even as campus leaders nationwide insist they are complying with the ban.
