The group that brought down affirmative action policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina earlier this year has now sued the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, arguing the military school’s review of race on applications violates the Constitution.
Military academies were excluded from the Supreme Court’s June ruling that struck down affirmative action at civilian colleges and universities.
But now Edward Blum, who leads Students for Fair Admissions, is targeting the academies, saying West Point in particular should not be using race as a factor when admitting cadets.
“America’s enemies do not fight differently based on the race of the commanding officer opposing them, soldiers must follow orders without regard to the skin color of those giving them, and battlefield realities apply equally to all soldiers regardless of race, ethnicity, or national origin,” reads the lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The lawsuit goes on to note the military was desegregated but recent moves have set racial goals for hiring and diversifying the academy’s members.
The lawsuit claims the consideration of race runs afoul of the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, which requires the federal government to provide equal protection and treatment for all.
If it’s unlawful for civilian schools to use race as an admissions factor, the lawsuit argues, then it should also be unlawful for the military.
“West Point has no justification for using race-based admissions. Those admissions are unconstitutional for all other public institutions of higher education,” the complaint reads. “The Academy is not exempt from the Constitution.”
The lawsuit asks the court to strike down the use of race.
Mr. Blum acknowledged courts have been mindful of the military’s unique role.
“However, no level of deference justifies these polarizing and disliked racial classifications and preferences in admissions to West Point or any of our service academies,” he said. “Because the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent opinion in the SFFA cases expressly forbids all institutions of higher education from using race in admissions decisions, it must follow that the U.S. military higher education institutions must end their race-based policies as well.”
A spokesperson from the U.S. Military Academy’s Public Affairs Office said the academy “does not comment on pending litigation.”
When the high court struck down affirmative action policies at private and state schools in June in its 6-3 ruling, it provided a footnote in the opinion noting military academies were not part of the case.
“No military academy is a party to these cases, however, and none of the courts below addressed the propriety of race-based admissions systems in that context. This opinion also does not address the issue, in light of the potentially distinct interests that military academies may present,” the footnote read.
Advocates for affirmative action had told the justices that diversity in the military was a goal, and that any ruling outlawing the use of race could lead to problems with various ranks and race in the armed forces.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted in her dissent that the military had promoted the use of diversity for national security purposes.
“Based on ’lessons from decades of battlefield experience,’ it has been the ’longstanding military judgment’ across administrations that racial diversity ’is essential to achieving a mission-ready’ military and to ensuring the Nation’s ’ability to compete, deter, and win in today’s increasingly complex global security environment,” she wrote.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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