“We Cannot Let This Decision Be The Last Word,” President Biden Blasts U.S Supreme Court For Outlawing Race Quota In University Admission

U.S President Joe Biden has blasted the majority judgment by Supreme Court outlawing the race-based policies of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina.

“Today the Court once again walked away from decades of precedent as the dissent has made clear,” Biden said, adding that he “strongly” disagrees with the decision.

“We cannot let this decision be the last word,” he said. “While the Court can render a decision it cannot change what America stands for. America is an idea, an idea unique in the world, an idea of hope and opportunity. Of possibilities. Of giving everyone a fair shot. Of leaving no one behind. We’ve never fully lived up to it, but we’ve never walked away from it either.” he further added.

The president went on to say affirmative action is “misunderstood.”

“Many people wrongly believe that affirmative action allows unqualified students to be admitted ahead of qualified students. This is not — this is not how college admissions work. Rather, colleges set out standards for admission and every student every student has to meet those standards then and only then after first meeting the qualifications required by the school do colleges look at other factors in addition to their grades, such as race,” he said.

The president said that while talent, creativity and hard work are everywhere across the country, that equal opportunity is not.

“Although the Court’s decision threatens to move the country backwards, the Biden-Harris Administration will fight to preserve the hard-earned progress we have made to advance racial equity and civil rights and expand educational opportunity for all Americans,” the White House said.

Biden called on colleges and universities to “give serious consideration to the adversities students have overcome” when selecting among qualified applicants.