Affirmative Action After SFFA v. Harvard: The Other Defenses

74 Syracuse Law Review 1101 (2024).

77 Pages Posted: 6 Jun 2024

See all articles by Kimberly West-Faulcon

Kimberly West-Faulcon

Loyola Law School Los Angeles; University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law

Date Written: April 30, 2024

Abstract

The diversity justification for race affirmative action recognized in the Bakke-Grutter-Fisher line of cases survived the SFFA v. Harvard ruling. However, the diversity rationale is scathed enough that universities should end the nearly fortyyear-old practice of relying exclusively on the institution's educational need for diversity to satisfy strict scrutiny. This Article argues that the SFFA v. Harvard ruling is a wake-up call for universities to understand and be prepared to invoke other defenses for race affirmative action in college admissions.

Keywords: SFFA v. Harvard, affirmative action, diversity, college admissions, other defenses for affirmative action, remedial affirmative action, remedial defense, Title VI, civil rights, race discrimination, strict scrutiny, Bakke, Grutter, Fisher, federal funding, antidiscrimination, anti-citizen, Kane's paradox

Suggested Citation

West-Faulcon, Kimberly, Affirmative Action After SFFA v. Harvard: The Other Defenses (April 30, 2024). 74 Syracuse Law Review 1101 (2024)., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4854448 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4854448

Kimberly West-Faulcon (Contact Author)

Loyola Law School Los Angeles ( email )

919 Albany Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015-1211
United States
213-736-8172 (Phone)

University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law

Boalt Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
United States

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