Bryn Mawr Joins Other Liberal Arts Institutions in Supreme Court Brief Regarding the Consideration of Race in College Admissions
Bryn Mawr College is among the group of private, highly selective liberal arts institutions that has filed an amicus brief [pdf] opposing a challenge before the Supreme Court regarding the use of race in college admissions. The brief argues that that there are sound educational reasons why virtually all of America’s colleges and universities have concluded that many different kinds of diversity, including (but not limited to) racial and ethnic diversity, create the best environment for learning.
From the brief:
“Private colleges were created and are funded as engines of social change, and the Court should consider the realities of selecting students in a society in which race still matters and the effects of discrimination and entrenched segregation still linger.”
In discussing the importance of the case, Bryn Mawr President Kim Cassidy adds, "Our goal is to build the most academically excellent class possible each year, in which varied interests, backgrounds, identities, and perspectives will contribute to creating an intellectually rich learning community."
Bryn Mawr is joined in filing the brief by fellow Tri-Co members Swarthmore and Haverford; sister schools Barnard, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Wellesley; and 31 other institutions.
The case, Fisher v. University of Texas, was filed on behalf of a white student who believes she was denied admission on the basis of race.
The brief was filed on Nov. 2. The case is set to be argued on Dec. 9.