Ending affirmative action is having dire effects

As you'll recall, because of a decision by the despicable Trump SCOTUS majority.

Gone, too, according to Hechinger Report findings, are dozens of public-university scholarships once reserved for students from underrepresented racial groups, amounting to at least $60 million, although the total is likely much higher. Government officials in Missouri, Kentucky and Wisconsin have ordered public colleges and universities in their states to end consideration of race in scholarship programs because of the court’s ruling.

It’s not just scholarships that have disappeared, another Hechinger Report review found. Also gone or under threat of disappearing in the year and a half since the court’s decision are scores of fellowships, pipeline programs and race-based mentoring opportunities, even though they weren’t mentioned in the court’s decision.

Although several schools are reporting substantial drops in the percentage of Black students entering this fall, we are still awaiting a fuller picture of what enrollment looks like for the first class since the decision, in part because much of the data is still unreported or unverified. - Hechinger Report

Many colleges weren't making much effort at inclusion and diversity, before

Yes, the decision by the ultra-corrupt, extremist Trump SCOTUS is disgraceful. But here's something of a reality check regarding the status quo.

If there is any hope following the Supreme Court’s decision to gut affirmative action and overturn more than 40 years of precedent last week, it might be this: Selective colleges and universities are suddenly pledging “unwavering commitment” to access and inclusion.

If only many of them had really made that effort in the first place.

I’m still reading through heartfelt statements from college presidents touting the importance of race-conscious admissions and having people from different backgrounds represented on their campuses.

Yet our years of reporting and collecting data on this issue at The Hechinger Report show little evidence they’ve actually done much to diversify their student bodies, even before the affirmative action ruling. Black student enrollment in colleges and universities has been dropping steadily, while many flagship universities lag way behind when it comes to enrolling their state’s Black and Hispanic high school graduates.

And nearly 700 schools have been raising prices paid by their lowest-income students – who are disproportionately Black and Hispanic – more than the prices paid by their highest-income ones. - The Hechinger Report