The statement below is by Commissioner Jonathan Young regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on Affirmative Action.
“The U.S. Supreme Court’s ban on affirmative action in college admissions is a disastrous setback for racial equality in America. I have dedicated my career to fighting for economic opportunity and developing our workforce, both as a commissioner and as an advocate for organized labor. Affirmative action leveled the playing-field for countless students of color in Camden County and beyond—students who otherwise would have been denied the economic opportunities their white classmates enjoyed.
Eliminating it is, as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg wrote, “like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.” According to NPR, when California banned affirmative action in admissions for public colleges, affected schools saw a 40% drop in Black and Latino enrollment. Even 20 years after the decision, UCLA still enrolls a disproportionately small number of Black and Latino students despite spending millions each year to mitigate the influence of systemic racism on their applicants. This negligent decision has ensured this same disaster will spread across the entire country.
I am proud of the role our community has played in fighting for racial justice through affirmative action. Back in 1968 when Rutgers-Camden’s student body was still 98% white, students with the Black Student Unity Movement’s protested for equitable admissions policies. This is just one episode in our community’s tireless efforts to fight educational inequality. We will come together again and work to overcome this setback, lest the efforts of our parents and grandparents be in vain.”