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55 U. Mich. J. L. Reform Online 1 (2021)

handle is hein.journals/caveat55 and id is 1 raw text is: HOW THE SUPREME COURT CAN IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC STUDENTS BY RULING AGAINST HARVARD COLLEGE'S USE OF RACE DATA By Genevieve Kelly* Abstract Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard has not only exposed ways in which Harvard College's admissions office unfairly assesses Asian American applicants, but it has also revealed that Harvard's fixation on race per se can disadvantage the very African American and Hispanic students best positioned to bring instructive and underrepresented perspectives to the college. The facts show that Harvard's tips and one-pager system values African American and Hispanic students for their ability to boost Harvard's racial profile more than for their actual experiences confronting racial discrimination. This Comment explains how, by ruling against Harvard (and without overruling Grutter or Fisher II), the Court can force the college to adopt admissions policies that not only treat all applicants more fairly, but that more fully affirm African American and Hispanic applicants. This Comment also offers ways that a ruling against Harvard could benefit disadvantaged African American and Hispanic students at every grade level-whether or not they ever apply to Harvard. Introduction For the sake of African American and Hispanic students who have received the fewest educational opportunities, the Supreme Court should hear Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. and rule against Harvard.' Harvard's admissions policies harm not only Asian Ameri- can applicants (who receive Harvard's lowest personal rating * Before becoming an attorney, Genevieve Kelly co-founded a college-prep high school for economically disadvantaged students, virtually all of whom have identified as African Ameri- can and/or Hispanic. The ideas expressed in this Comment are personal and do not represent the views of her former employer, the U.S. Department of Justice, or its client agencies, such as the Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services. This Comment draws upon the author's experience with schools and college preparation. 1. Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll. (Harvard Corp.), 397 F. Supp. 3d 126, 131 (D. Mass. 2019), aff'd sub nom., Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll., 980 F.3d 157 (1st Cir. 2020), petition for cert. filed, _U.S._ (Feb. 28, 2021) (No. 20-1199). 1

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