香蕉秀

The Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling last summer that gutted affirmative action policies at colleges and universities was met by Boston College administrators with frustration and disappointment, but also with a commitment to work within the law to further the University鈥檚 longstanding efforts to enroll diverse and talented classes.聽

鈥淏oston College has greatly benefited from a student body of varied backgrounds, which has enriched intellectual discourse and social life on our campus,鈥� University President William P. Leahy, SJ, said in a statement. Continuing, Fr. Leahy said that 鈥渨hile the law has changed, the values and goals of Boston College have not. The University remains committed to the transformative power of education and to enrolling a student body that reflects American society, in accordance with the law.鈥澛�

Boston College Law Professor and Dean鈥檚 Distinguished Scholar Kent Greenfield, an expert on the Supreme Court, criticized the ruling. For mission-driven schools like 香蕉秀, Greenfield said, 鈥渁 diverse student body is essential. Diversity of all kinds鈥攔acial, sexual, socioeconomic, ideological鈥攊s important in constructing a student community that reflects the school鈥檚 commitments to social justice and searching for truth. The court鈥檚 ruling will make it much more difficult for us to achieve the kind of diversity we aspire to have here on campus. Diversity makes us better. It makes the classroom experience better. It makes the community stronger. The court鈥檚 ruling harms us as a community, and our teaching and learning will suffer.鈥�

Professor of History Martin Summers, who recently completed his term as director of the African and African Diaspora Studies program, said that future undergraduate classes are likely to be less racially diverse at predominantly white institutions across the country. 鈥淚 find it interesting,鈥� Summers said, 鈥渢hat the same people who are advocating for making higher education institutions more diverse in terms of political viewpoints have no problem with making the student bodies at those universities less diverse in terms of race, socioeconomic background, life experiences, and so forth. As our student body becomes more racially and socioeconomically homogenous, I think ultimately our campus culture will become impoverished.鈥�

Dean of Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid Grant Gosselin said that the court鈥檚 decision is likely to have a negative impact on the efforts of the nation鈥檚 elite universities to enroll representative populations of students. 鈥淚n recent decades, each of the states that have banned the consideration of race in college admission has seen measurable declines in the enrollment of students from underserved backgrounds,鈥� Gosselin said. 鈥淭he nation鈥檚 leading private universities are now likely to face these same challenges.鈥� He expressed pride in the University鈥檚 work to increase the enrollment of underrepresented students at 香蕉秀.聽

Indeed, this fall鈥檚 first-year class is the University鈥檚 most accomplished and racially diverse ever, with a record 38 percent of students identifying as AHANA, and 11 percent who are first-generation college students. These numbers reflect more than just a commitment to enrolling a diverse student body, Fr. Leahy noted in his statement. They also speak to the University鈥檚 investment in the education of students from under-resourced communities. As a need-blind institution, 香蕉秀 will continue to allocate millions of dollars to need-based undergraduate financial aid鈥攊ncluding an expenditure of more than $166 million in 2023鈥�2024鈥攁nd through its academic support programs offered through 香蕉秀鈥檚 Pine Manor Institute for Student Success. Fr. Leahy said that 香蕉秀 will also continue to prioritize diversity 鈥渂y building on its strong relationships with schools and community-based organizations and through its membership in QuestBridge, a national nonprofit program that helps outstanding high-need students earn scholarships to attend top colleges and universities.鈥� And next year, the University will open Messina College, a two-year residential program that will offer an associate鈥檚 degree program to approximately one hundred students each year, with the goal of preparing them to enroll in a bachelor鈥檚 degree program or begin their careers.聽

鈥淭he University,鈥� Fr. Leahy said, 鈥渋ntends to remain faithful to its Jesuit, Catholic intellectual and religious heritage by enrolling talented, diverse students from across the United States and the world within the new parameters set by the court.鈥澛犅�