The Center for Philosophy, Politics and Economics hosted an event Wednesday evening in which participants addressed affirmative action and anti-discrimination policies in the college admissions process. The event, titled “After Affirmative Action: Democracy and the University,” is another element in the ongoing national discussion about affirmative action in the wake of the 2023 Supreme Court ruling on race-based admissions.
The panel, organized by the center's Democracy Project, included John Friedman, professor of economics, international and public affairs; Logan Powell, associate dean of enrollment and dean of admissions; and Michael Roth, President of Wesleyan University.
The session was moderated by Bonnie Honig, director of the Democracy Project and professor of political science, modern culture, and media.
Honig began the session by explaining the rationale for the event: “to consider how universities that care about diversity and equity will respond to the (Supreme Court) decision,” Student Fair Admissions Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.
“Universities are an important part of the democratic landscape,” Honig added. “The Court’s decision on affirmative action from the perspective of democracy and democratic theory is part of a larger struggle in the United States now over education, democratic values, and the limits and extent of state power.”
Honig went on to point to controversies in Virginia over critical race theory and anti-LGBT laws in Florida as “developments that share one goal: to sow distrust in institutions of higher education.”
Powell began his portion of the panel by emphasizing the principle of “ethnic diversity in the classroom” as crucial to the “foundational growth of students who contribute to society.” He went on to explain the implications of the Supreme Court's decision on university admission policies.
Powell pointed to a quote from Chief Justice John Roberts's majority opinion in SFFA v. Harvard: “Nothing in this opinion should be construed to preclude universities from considering an applicant's discussion of how race has affected his or her life, whether through discrimination Or inspiration. or something else.”
“That's what we've been doing at Brown all along… Race in and of itself has never been the reason an applicant is accepted, rejected (or) waitlisted,” Powell said.
Powell also highlighted the addition of new short answer essays that allow applicants to “speak about their background, life experiences (and) inspiring experiences, courage, leadership, etc.” These additions come as the SFFA case eliminated the ability of admissions officials to display applicants' selected races and ethnicities on the Common Application portal, he said.
Finally, Powell lamented the impact of the decision on applicants, “who – in some cases – do not want to relive the trauma of discrimination,” he said. Applicants may “want to tell stories of hope, joy, and excellence, but (can) feel compelled to talk about painful experiences” instead.
Roth discussed how Wesleyan University attempted to “achieve diversity” in the “absence of affirmative action.” The school ended legacy admissions in July 2023, a decision that Roth said was driven by a desire to “send a signal to Black students and people of color in particular that we value diversity.”
Roth highlighted the focus on supporting economically disadvantaged schools, pointing to Wesleyan's partnership with the National Foundation for Equity in Education, “which offers credit-based courses in high-poverty high schools.”
But he also warned that “there are really good reasons to be skeptical of affirmative action.”
“This shows that places like Wesleyan and Brown don't have intellectual diversity at the level that allows us to really learn the ideas,” he said. Referring to Brown's progressive-leaning student body, Roth asked: “Who's going to bring you smart conservative ideas and norms that might not fly in Brooklyn Heights?”
Friedman highlighted the power of admissions officers to shape the “course” of applicants’ lives. “We are now like gatekeepers who have access to this huge boost in your life path,” he said. “We need to think about who is going to get this payment.”
“There's a tremendous amount of evidence about how you can have very unequal life trajectories, depending on the circumstances of your birth,” he added, noting that race and socioeconomic status are particularly important in determining that trajectory.
After opening remarks by the panelists, the event evolved into an hour-long question and answer session.
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An audience member asked about the implications of replacing consideration of race with consideration of socioeconomic status as a means of providing diversity.
Friedman responded that differences in life trajectories across racial lines persist “even when you look at people with the same level of income or education.”
“Just as an example, the children of black millionaires are more likely to end up in prison by the age of 30 than the children of white families earning, say, $50,000 a year,” he said.
One audience member wondered how admissions policies at elite universities might put pressure on wealthier families, who they noted tended to prefer private schools rather than the public education system.
“Wesleyan makes an extra effort to find public school graduates so that we have fewer disproportionately large students from private schools,” Roth responded. “This (sends) a signal to parents – OK, if you want to go to Brown or Wesleyan, you want to go to the local school, rather than go to a private school.”
But Powell highlighted another factor: “Who made the decision for the student to go to school?” He said. “Should we hold it against a student if a parent chooses to live in a certain place or send them to a certain school?”
“We are sensitive to that as well,” he added.
Other attendees asked about differences in educational investment between communities, the importance of intellectual diversity in admissions and the impact of affirmative action on Asian American students.
Alex Shieh, ’27, attended the event because of his interest in affirmative action, as well as the different perspectives presented by the panel. “I think it's important… to listen to different points of view to form your own perspective,” he said.
Shih asked the committee about the role of Asian American students in affirmative action policies. “I think that oftentimes, in the affirmative action discussion, there is more focus on African Americans and white students,” he said. “It's important to focus on how this affects everyone.” Shih also said he wished there were more people opposed to affirmative action represented on the committee.
Nathan Selig, a 2027 graduate, found particular interest in discussing standardized test scores and their predictions for success in college, a relationship explored in a new Opportunity Insights study led by Friedman, the Herald previously reported.
Selig found Friedman's point that data from the SAT “is not necessarily a vehicle for injustice, or something that creates bias, but rather reflects bias and injustice in society,” particularly interesting, he said.
Curious about how Brown would handle “issues of merit and equity,” Daniel Schiffman ’27 came to the event to learn how to change the university’s admissions policies. He also noted the committee's focus on the issue of diversity and the different ways it is applied to the admissions process.
Diversity remains at the forefront of discussions surrounding affirmative action and the future of admissions in higher education.
“We are committed, as an institution and an office of college admissions, to the values of the university,” Powell said. These values aim to “build a diverse student population – as broadly diverse as possible – with an emphasis on academic excellence.”
Tom Lee is Metro Editor covering health, environment, development and infrastructure. He is from Pleasanton, California, and focuses on economics, international and public affairs, and French and Francophone studies. He is a huge RIPTA enthusiast and enjoys taking (and critiquing) personality tests in his spare time.
Sophia Whitman is a senior writer covering convergence and activism for University News. She is a sophomore from Long Island, New York, studying political science and music and interested in women's rights. She is a jazz trumpet player and can often be found performing on campus and around Providence.
