West Point sued over race-conscious admissions policy
By Bryan Ke
September 20, 2023
Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), a conservative group that successfully won its Supreme Court lawsuit against Harvard and the University of North Carolina for their race-conscious admissions policies, is now suing the U.S. Military Academy West Point in New York.
Key details: In the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, the anti-affirmative action conservative nonprofit said that the U.S. Military Academy West Point’s decision to take applicants’ race into account during its admission process, among other factors, is unconstitutional.
The group argued in a press release that the academy’s practice violates the U.S.’s Fifth Amendment, stating that it “contains an equal-protection principle that binds the entire federal government and is no less strict and demanding than the Equal Protection Clause that binds the States and all public entities.”
What they are saying: In the complaint, SFFA argued that skin color is a decisive factor in West Point’s admission process, which often has a limited pool mostly made up of applicants nominated by U.S. representatives and senators to compete “for the single slot afforded to their senator or representative each year.”
The group said that this practice is “equally dispositive for the other qualified nominees who are turned away.”
What they want: SFFA petitioned the court to prohibit West Point from considering the applicant’s race when “making admissions decisions.” They also want the court to rule in their favor and declare judgment that the military academy’s affirmative action practice is “unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment.”
How it started: The latest lawsuit came on the heels after the group’s successful lawsuit against Harvard and the University of North Carolina in June, with the Supreme Court ruling that the two universities violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
The Supreme Court reportedly excluded military academies, like West Point, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Coast Guard Academy, in its ruling.
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