June 30, 2023
Yesterday, the Supreme Court overturned more than fifty years of precedent by ruling that affirmative action in college admissions is now unconstitutional. As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned so poignantly in her dissenting opinion: this “makes things worse, not better” for race relations.
“With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces “colorblindness for all” by legal fiat”, wrote Justice Jackson. “But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life. And having so detached itself from this country’s actual past and present experiences, the Court has now been lured into interfering with the crucial work that UNC and other institutions of higher learning are doing to solve America’s real-world problems.”
As an organization committed to bettering the mental health of young adults, we at The Dorm are gravely concerned about the impact this will have on the wellbeing of young people of color — individuals who already face pervasive structural racism woven into the fabric of our society and our higher education system. We believe in a society where all people have equal access to the resources and education they need to succeed and reach their fullest personal potential. Inequality and discrimination in higher education sends a message that Black youth and their lived experience don’t matter. This has profoundly negative mental health reverberations and is a giant step back in our history books.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision is … not about being colorblind”, expressed Vice President Kamala Harris, yesterday, “It’s about being blind to history, blind to empirical evidence about disparities, and blind to the strength that diversity brings to classrooms.”
To our Dorm clients, we encourage you to speak with your clinical team about anything you are feeling and how we can support and provide the resources you need to process the news and feel safe.
Do you or a loved one need help with mental health?
The Dorm is here.
The Dorm Leadership Team
