The military academy West Point is facing a lawsuit filed by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) for allegedly violating the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection clause due to the school’s race-based admissions policies.
This comes after a Supreme Court ruling in June against Harvard and the University of North Carolina, which stated that a “student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race.” SFFA, which represented the plaintiffs in these cases, believes this decision should be applied to all schools.
Edward Blum, the president of SFFA, stated, “Over the years, courts have been mindful of the military’s unique role in our nation’s life and the distinctive considerations that come with it. However, no level of deference justifies these polarizing and disliked racial classifications and preferences in admissions to West Point or any of our service academies.”
The lawsuit argues that West Point’s admissions should focus on “objective metrics and leadership potential” rather than race. It criticizes the academy’s racial “benchmarks” for student admissions, which include quotas for “African Americans,” “Hispanics,” and “Asians.”
SFFA contends that these policies imply that all minorities think alike and dismisses the academy’s claim that they are necessary for gaining legitimacy in a diverse nation. It argues that a country’s military should not be considered trustworthy solely due to its racial composition.
The lawsuit requests that the court declare West Point’s use of race in admissions unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment and seeks a preliminary injunction to prevent the academy from enforcing this policy while the case is in court.
Edward Blum concluded, “Because the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent opinion in the SFFA cases expressly forbids all institutions of higher education from using race in admissions decisions, it must follow that the U. S. military higher education institutions must end their race-based policies as well.”
