Columbia Law School quickly backpedaled on an apparent scheme to circumvent the Supreme Court’s recent ruling banning affirmative action in higher education.
The school initially announced applicants would be required to submit video statements along with their applications. The timing of this change could hardly be more suspicious, and many pounced on the obvious attempt to ignore the law of the land.
The Washington Free Beacon reported Columbia’s website touted that the videos would “allow applicants to provide the Admissions Committee with additional insight into their personal strengths and academic or other achievements.”
Not to mention their race and gender.
But just as quickly as the attempt was reported, the law school deleted that mandate from its website. A spokesperson told the outlet that the video statement requirement was erroneously posted.
The spokesperson declared that “it was inadvertently listed on the Law School’s website and has since been corrected.” Columbia said the program was instituted in May for transfer applicants but ended.
1/x Columbia's Law School planned to make applicants record a video of themselves as part of their application. Thankfully, the school reversed course. https://t.co/iopvFeP3Bd
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 2, 2023
That assertion is contradicted by archived pages that showed the video was to be submitted by “all” students.
A Columbia Law student was angry at the apparently obvious intent of the school. “The timing is so suspect. I have to wonder, are they that dumb?” the student told the Free Beacon. “They’re not even trying to hide it.”
Another critic was Richard Hanania, a former research fellow with Columbia’s Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies. “Violating the law, or a hint of doing so, is bad press. [The] Supreme Court has made their lives harder.”
Leftist universities reacted angrily when the high court stripped away their ability to favor certain populations over others.
The complaint was even made that elite schools would now become truly elite.
Compliance with the high court’s ruling will require dogged attention by advocacy groups to ensure fair admissions. Already there are attempts other than Columbia’s apparent failed try to work around the landmark decision.
Watchdog organization Campus Reform noted that schools are devious in the ways they are asking prospective students about race. New York’s Sarah Lawrence College is asking those applying for the coming semester how the SCOTUS ruling affects them personally.
