All opinions expressed in this article are solely the opinions of the contributors.
The recent decision from the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to end affirmative action quotas in U.S. university applications and admissions met a mixed reception among the American public, with some celebrating the decision and others dissenting against it. Even among those who welcomed the end of affirmative action, however, many criticized the court for failing to also tackle “legacy admissions,” where universities favor student applicants whose relatives previously attended the school, and other remaining forms of alleged bias in the admissions process which were not addressed by the Supreme Court’s decision.
In response to that criticism, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a law prohibiting the practice of legacy admissions in all California public and private universities. California is now the fifth U.S. state to have passed a law restricting or prohibiting legacy admissions.
Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor Ruben Navarrette reviews the data and arguments against legacy admissions and concludes that those who favor a true meritocracy must oppose legacy admissions.
Be the first to know when Ruben Navarrette publishes a new opinion! Download the Straight Arrow News app and enable push notifications today!
The following is an excerpt from the above video:
The big con are those preferences for alumni or donors. That’s the real injustice in the Golden State. It is now a violation of state law for either a public or private college or university to give an applicant a leg up in the admissions process just because a parent went there or someone handed over a big check to fund a new football stadium. Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law AB 1780, which prohibits legacy and donor preferences in the admissions process.
That’s going to shake up fancy private institutions of higher learning in California like Santa Clara University, where in 2022, 13.3% of the entering freshman class had family ties, or the University of Southern California, where 14.4% had a family connection, and Stanford University, where 13.8% had a relative hook them up.
The law, which won’t go into effect until September 2025, is the second of its kind, following the lead of Maryland, which earlier this year also banned legacy admissions in both public and private schools. So what’s behind this trend? A couple of things, actually.
