Judge upholds use of race in US Naval Academy admissions
The decision follows a US Supreme Court ruling last year that bars civilian colleges from employing similar affirmative action policies
A federal judge on Friday ruled that the US Naval Academy may continue to consider race when evaluating candidates to attend the elite military school, even after the US Supreme Court last year barred civilian colleges from employing similar affirmative action policies.
US District Judge Richard Bennett in Baltimore rejected arguments by Students for Fair Admissions, a group founded by affirmative action opponent Edward Blum, that the Annapolis, Maryland-based Naval Academy’s race-conscious admissions programme was unconstitutional.
The decision marked a victory for outgoing Democratic US President Joe Biden’s administration, which had argued that senior military leaders had long recognised that a scarcity of minority officers could create distrust within the armed forces, which were racially segregated until 1948.
Blum in a statement said the group was disappointed by the ruling and planned to appeal, first to the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals and, if unsuccessful there, the US Supreme Court.
“It is our hope that the US military academies ultimately will be compelled to follow the Supreme Court’s prohibition of race in college admissions,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Naval Academy, which trains officers for the Navy and the Marine Corps, said it was aware of the ruling and was reviewing it.
