Local organizations, university weigh in after Supreme Court overturns affirmative action

SAN ANTONIO – Local organizations and UTSA are weighing in after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned affirmative action, which schools relied on to make race-conscious admissions policies and diversify campuses.

The 6-3 ruling is expected to result in campuses with more white and Asian American students and fewer Black and Hispanic students, according to the Associated Press.

UTSA President Taylor Eighmy shared some perspective about how the ruling would affect the university.

“We do not anticipate any impact from this decision at this time. We have not and do not use race in our admissions process,” Eighmy said in a written address. “Beyond our guaranteed admissions requirements, the holistic review process we use considers a variety of information to best understand each applicant’s potential to achieve success at UTSA. Test scores, high school grade point average (GPA), prior college coursework, letters of recommendation and personal experience all contribute to a complete view of each applicant.”

KSAT reached out to Texas A&M University-San Antonio for comment but did not hear back by the time this story was published.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, an Ivy League graduate who was against affirmative action, expressed his support for the Supreme Court ruling.

“Today, the Supreme Court has ended our country’s long and failed experiment with racial quotas and government-sanctioned discrimination, and, in the process, restored some objectivity and fairness to the college admissions process.

Local organizations weigh in

Rudy Rosales, outgoing state director of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), said non-white students must continue to fight for their education.

“We need to tell our kids that there are other avenues by which they can get into college and not to give up. Never give up. Never, ever, ever give up. And that’s my message to the kids out there,” he said. “Don’t let this be something that deters you from getting a higher education.”

Rosales said LULAC would continue working with high schools on programs to help students achieve higher education.

NAACP San Antonio President Gregory Hudspeth said, “The whole idea behind affirmative action was not to take rights or opportunities away from anyone. It was to recognize the challenges that we’ve had that some groups of people have been placed at a disadvantage.”