Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), a candidate for the 2024 GOP nomination for president, cheered the landmark and historic ruling of the Supreme Court and its conservative majority on June 29 in which the court found that it is unconstitutional for institutions of higher education to consider race when making admission decisions.
Scott then called on colleges and universities to end the practice of legacy admissions.
Scott, who was the first black U.S. senator from the South in more than a century when he joined the Senate in 2013, opposes affirmative action, a policy that is widely and almost universally embraced by the Democrat party. Black voters have long and overwhelmingly voted for Democrats as opposed to Republicans.
Legacy admission is a practice in which those making the decision on who gets accepted and who gets rejected show favor to applicants whose family members—preferably close family members—attended the school.
The roots of legacy admissions go back to the 1920s when certain elite colleges and universities activated the policy as a way to limit the enrollment of Jews, Asians, Catholics, and immigrants, and maintain a student body weighted heavily with well-heeled white protestants.
“I think the question is how do you continue to create a culture where education is the goal for every single part of our community? One of the things that Harvard could do to make that even better is to eliminate any legacy programs where they have preferential treatment for legacy kids, not allow for the professors, their kids, to come to Harvard as well,” Scott said.
Affirmative Action
During the senator’s June 29 appearance on “The Faulkner Focus,” Scott addressed a comment by former first lady Michelle Obama on the Supreme Court rulings.In a statement shared on social media, Obama said her “heart breaks for any young person out there who’s wondering what their future holds and what kinds of chances will be open to them.”
Scott sounded a more hopeful tone on the consequences of what the Supreme Court decided.
“I’m running for president because I know America can do for anyone what she has done for me,” said Scott. “But sending the message that somehow the color of your skin means that you will not be able to achieve your goals from an educational perspective, from an income perspective or family formation, that is a lie from the pit of hell.
“We will not be judged solely by the color of our skin. That’s what the ruling said today but that is the story of America, that is the story of American progress, and we can all celebrate that.”
