Central Florida university administrators and students are responding to the Supreme Court’s decision Thursday to overturn affirmative action in the United States.
Public colleges and universities in Florida since 1999 have been acting under an order issued by then Governor Jeb Bush prohibiting using race as a factor in admissions.
Still, some private universities and colleges such as Rollins continue to consider race as one of many factors to determine admissions.
Da’Reone Christopher will soon start her senior year studying marine biology at Rollins. She’s originally from the Caribbean.
“I do have younger siblings below me who have went through the same hardships that I have," said Christopher. "And I think that it is extremely important to take every single part of a person into consideration.”
Mark Dorosin teaches at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University law school in Orlando. He said many of his students are disappointed by the decision.
“In our system wealth and privilege compound across generations," said Dorosin. "And so when you start now talking about so-called race neutrality, all you're doing is cementing the status quo and preventing our ability to sort of undo the decades of inequality.”
The Supreme Court is expected to vote on the legality of President Joe Biden’s loan forgiveness program on Friday.
