To: The John Jay College Community
Re: Supreme Court Decision Banning Race-Conscious College Admissions

I am deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court's decision to reject race-conscious college admissions policies. Their ruling reverses decades of precedent and is a significant setback to eradicating inequality.

The number of people from historically underrepresented communities who attend college is likely to decrease as a result. As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in her dissent, “History speaks. In some form, it can be heard forever. The race-based gaps that first developed centuries ago are echoes from the past that still exist today. By all accounts, they are still stark.”

The John Jay community is a living exception to the history recalled by Justice Brown Jackson, a story told by our students and graduates who embody every possibility and promise. Half of our students are the first in their family to go to college, two-thirds identify as Black or Hispanic and three-quarters attended New York City public schools. Their successes invigorate us, lift us up and propel us forward. 

Earlier today, Chancellor Rodriquez said, “As misguided as we believe it to be, this ruling will not deter us in our work.” We remain committed to educating fierce advocates for justice and to creating a campus, a city, a society energized by diversity and equality.