Shall We Overcome: What is the Alternative to Affirmative Action

Devon WesthillEducation

This column appeared originally at philanthropyroundtable.org Nearly every selective college in the country discriminates on the basis of race in admitting students because the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed it for decades. This month, the Court is expected to revoke that permission slip when it issues opinions in two cases brought by Students for Fair Admissions that challenge affirmative action at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. The good news is there are many other, better ways to support the disadvantaged than using race-based preferences.   If the Court’s decision prohibits race-explicit affirmative action, some expect organizations to evade the …

Anti-Asian Discrimination in College Admissions

Center for Equal OpportunityEducation

On Tuesday, March 28, at 2:00 pm ET, CEO President Devon Westhill will take part in the National Association of Scholars webinar “Anti-Asian Discrimination in College Admissions.”  From the NAS press release: “Every ‘plus’ on one student’s college application translates to a ‘minus’ on another student’s application. In the process of boosting the applications of so-called ‘underrepresented minorities,’ admissions offices routinely penalize Asian-American applicants, dismissing their diligence and hard work as a ‘lack of personality.’ How did the widespread discrimination against Asian-American students arise in American higher education? Why has the plight of these minority students been so disregarded by …

Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: SFFA vs. UNC & Harvard

Center for Equal OpportunityEducation

On October 31, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College. In perhaps the most anticipated case of this term, the court considers a challenge to the use of racially preferential undergraduate student admissions practices at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Experts broke down the oral argument on the same day, October 31, 2022. Featuring: Prof. Amanda Shanor, Assistant Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics, The Wharton School Devon Westhill, President and General Counsel, Center for Equal Opportunity Moderator: Curt Levey, President, Committee for Justice …

PRESS RELEASE: Supreme Court Hears Argument in Harvard and UNC Cases

Center for Equal OpportunityEducation, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Devon Westhill(904) 683-6060 (Washington, D.C) This morning, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear from the lawyers arguing on both sides of the race preferences cases SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC. The Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) and our staff helped write and then joined six amicus briefs in these cases urging the Supreme Court to take the cases and to overturn Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) which permitted the use of race in college admissions for the supposedly compelling benefits of campus racial diversity. Our briefs argued that race preferences are unconstitutional and …

FILED: Two Briefs in Supreme Court Affirmative Action Cases

Devon WesthillEducation

Dear friends, I am pleased to report to you that CEO has once again assisted in crafting and joined a Supreme Court amicus brief filed by our friends at the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF). As a former civil rights government official, I also joined a brief filed by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). The briefs can be viewed by following the links provided in the “Merits-Stage Amicus Briefs” section below. Both briefs support petitioners in the case of Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard/University of North Carolina in their challenge to the schools’ use of racial preferences in …

Blacks, Hispanics, Asians oppose race preferences in college admissions

Center for Equal OpportunityDocuments, Education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Contact: Rudy GerstenWednesday April 6, 2022(703) 442-0066 (Falls Church, VA) Today, the Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) released a new report on attitudes towards racial preferences in college admissions. Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978), the use of race as a factor in college admissions has roiled public opinion. Dr. Althea Nagai, Senior Research Fellow at CEO, examines data from a recent Pew Research Center survey on racial and ethnic issues that shows considerable discomfort with using race to determine who should be admitted to college. Overwhelmingly, Americans of …

Opening Statement of Devon Westhill House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties

Center for Equal OpportunityEducation

Opening Statement of Devon WesthillPresident and General CounselCenter for Equal Opportunity House Committee on the JudiciarySubcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Hearing of March 1, 2022 – Discrimination and the Civil Rights of the Muslim, Arab, and South Asian American Communities Chair Cohen, Ranking Member Johnson, and distinguished Members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to provide my testimony on “Discrimination and the Civil Rights of the Muslim, Arab, and South Asian American Communities.” My name is Devon Westhill and I am the president and general counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity. CEO is …

Justices have two chances to end colleges’ racial discrimination

Devon WesthillEducation

This Op-Ed Originally appeared on the Washington Examiner The Supreme Court has before it two ideal vehicles finally to end racial preferences in college admissions. For the sake of socially and economically disadvantaged minorities, the court should courageously end the practice known as affirmative action. One case challenges Harvard’s use of race in admissions decisions. Although a private institution, Harvard receives federal funding and, therefore, is prohibited by civil rights law from discriminating on the basis of race. The other case challenges the University of North Carolina’s use of race in admissions as prohibited by civil rights law and the …