Harvard University's Race and Ethnicity Program data The university's freshman class has seen a decline in students who identify as African-American or black, making it the first class to be affected by a 2023 Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action.
Students who identify as African American or black made up 14 percent of the class, a 4 percentage point decrease from the Class of 2027.
“For decades, we have worked hard to ensure that students from all backgrounds can attend Harvard and make a difference to their peers, the nation and the world. We will continue to pursue our mission in a scrupulous and lawful manner,” said William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and scholarships.
There was also a 1 percent decrease in students identifying as Native American. There was no change in the 37 percent of students who identified as Asian American and the 1 percent who identified as Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. However, there was an increase of 2 percent in students who identified as Hispanic or Latino, for a total of 16 percent.
Earlier this month, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) released enrollment data showing a decline in Black freshmen and transfer students since the Supreme Court ruling: Their numbers fell from 10.5% for fall 2023 to 7.8% this year.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) also blamed the Supreme Court decision for a decline in the diversity of its admitted students: Black, Hispanic, Native American and Pacific Islander students make up 16% of the class of 2028, compared with the number typically hovering around 25% in recent years. said “These are the kinds of people who are looking to get into college,” said Stu Schmil, dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Yale University released enrollment data earlier this month that showed a complicated picture, with an increase in its white population and a decline in Asian American enrollment, while the number of students identifying as black or Hispanic remained steady.
The decline in enrollment diversity since the Supreme Court ruling has led advocates to urge college officials to find alternative ways to support black and Hispanic students.
“This is pretty much what people expected when the Supreme Court decision was handed down last summer, and one of the reasons is that affirmative action was one of many measures that tried to alleviate some of these institutional barriers that prevent marginalized groups from gaining admission to competitive institutions of higher education. So if you take away one of those measures, it's going to make it even harder for members of those groups to gain admission to some of these institutions,” Timothy Welbeck, director of Temple University's Anti-Racism Center, told The Hill earlier this month.
