Lights, Camera, Affirmative Action
December 10, 2021
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“To abandon affirmative action is to say there is nothing more to be done about discrimination.” – Coretta Scott King
Lights, Camera, Affirmative Action
The Supreme Court appears to be gearing up to resolve a years-long battle by one conservative group to dismantle universities’ affirmative action admissions policies. In November 2014, the newly-formed, anti-affirmative action nonprofit, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), filed lawsuits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, alleging their undergraduate admissions policies discriminated against Asian Americans in violation of the Civil Rights Act.
SFFA brought the Harvard lawsuit on behalf of a group of anonymous Asian American applicants who claimed they’d been unconstitutionally rejected because the Ivy League school held them to a higher standard and used a subjective “personal rating” system to limit their acceptance. SFFA’s argument that Harvard favored Black and Hispanic applicants over another minority group was a strategic reversal from past anti-affirmative action lawsuits where it was white plaintiffs alleging unfair treatment.
The last Supreme Court decision on the subject was when in 2016 they handed down an unexpected opinion upholding the affirmative action admissions policy at the University of Texas. Although the decision contained a warning to other universities that not all such programs would pass constitutional muster, the basic message was that admissions officials could continue considering race as one factor among many in ensuring a diverse student body. The Trump administration was supportive of efforts to do away with affirmative action policies, and in the summer of 2017, resources of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division were redirected toward investigating and suing universities over admission policies it deemed to discriminate against white applicants.
The Harvard case went to trial in 2018, and the long-awaited decision was rendered in October 2019. District Judge Allison Burroughs, an Obama appointee, rejected claims that Harvard had intentionally discriminated against Asian Americans, and held that the university’s admissions process, while “not perfect,” had met the strict constitutional standard for considering race. SFFA appealed the ruling in February 2020, and Trump’s Justice Department filed an amicus curiae brief supporting the plaintiff’s position. But in November, the First Circuit Appeals Court upheld Judge Burroughs’ ruling. Since SFFA lost both the Harvard case and the UNC case, and has appealed both to the Supreme Court, it has asked the high court to hear both cases together.
It might have been expected that the new administration would see anti-affirmative action cases differently than the last. In February, the Biden Justice Department dropped a case against Yale University filed by the previous administration in 2020. This June, SCOTUS asked the Biden Justice Department to weigh in with its views on the Harvard case; on Wednesday, the Solicitor General filed an amicus brief on behalf of the U.S., urging the high court to reject SFFA’s challenge. (SFFA, NYT, justice.gov, Reuters, Axios)
Hong Kong Activists Convicted
- More than two dozen politicians and activists were arrested in June when tens of thousands of demonstrators in Hong Kong defied a ban against holding a vigil for the victims of Beijing’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Among them were Hong Kong media mogul and founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper Jimmy Lai, former journalist turned opposition politician Gwyneth Ho, and former lawyer and part of the group that had organized the vigil for decades Chow Hang Tung.
- The activists had chosen to contest their charges. During trial the three argued they had lit candles during the vigil in a personal capacity, and hadn’t “incited” others to join the unauthorized rally. Regardless, they were found guilty of inciting and taking part in an unlawful assembly. A district court dismissed the trio’s arguments as “frankly nonsensical,” and said their participation “was an act of defiance and protest against the police.” They will be sentenced December 13, and face up to five years in prison. (BBC)
Extinguishing Smoking
- New Zealanders born after 2008 will not be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products in their lifetime, thanks to a law expected to be enacted next year. The move is part of a sweeping crackdown on smoking announced by New Zealand’s health ministry on Thursday.
- “We want to make sure young people never start smoking,” the health minister said. Doctors and other health experts in the country have welcomed the “world-leading” reforms, which will reduce access to tobacco and restrict nicotine levels in cigarettes. Currently, 13% of New Zealand’s adults smoke.
- The rate is much higher among the indigenous Maori population, almost a third of whom smoke. Maori also suffer a higher rate of disease and death. Officials are determined to achieve a national goal of reducing the smoking rate to 5% by 2025, with the aim of eventually eliminating it altogether. The crackdown has been met with mixed reactions, with detractors believing the move will lead to a black market and a crime wave. (BBC)
Additional World News
- Britain Introduces ‘Plan B’ Covid Measures to Tackle Omicron (NYT, $)
- Proposal Would Allow E.U. to Retaliate Against Economic Pressure (NYT, $)
- Anti-independence ads accused of ‘profound racism’ against indigenous New Caledonians in court action (Guardian)
- EU expects Europe plants to produce 3.6 billion COVID shots in 2022 (Reuters)
- Ethiopia Says It Recaptured 2 Strategic Towns From Tigray Rebels (NYT, $)
- U.S. accuses El Salvador of cutting secret deal with MS-13 to tamp down killings (WaPo, $)
- This beauty roundup has something for everyone on your gift list. With a sparkling mix of shimmers and velvety mattes, these beauty bundles will help you and your besties tap into your inner makeup artist with ease.
- Whether you’re looking for the perfect stocking stuffer or a decadent delight, these glamorous gift bundles will not disappoint. And with every purchase, a portion of proceeds go to Girls, Inc.
- These curated beauty picks are perfect to add to your gift list. Treat yourself to the hottest makeup gift sets with code HOLIDAY25 for 25% off, and get fast free shipping on orders over $30.
Trump Stumped
- On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit resoundingly rejected former President Trump’s bid to keep his White House documents secret from the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection. Trump’s lawyers were given 14 days to appeal to the Supreme Court.
- The former president is trying to block the National Archives and Records Administration from releasing the first 800 pages of his disputed papers by claiming executive privilege, a right universally considered to belong to the current president. Current President Biden declined to assert the privilege but Trump claims he has residual privilege rights, thus setting up a constitutional controversy of first impression. Of course, even if Trump loses, so far he is winning in his favorite game of run-out-the-clock. (WaPo)
He Duggar His Own Grave
- A federal jury in Fayetteville, Arkansas has found former reality TV star Josh Duggar, 33, guilty on one count each of receiving and possessing child sex abuse images on his work computer. He faces up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 for each count.
- Duggar is the eldest child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s 19 children, and was featured with his family on the TLC reality show “19 Kids and Counting” that ran from 2008 to 2015. The show was centered around the family’s strict religious beliefs as devout Baptists. During the trial, Duggar’s family friend Bobye Holt testified that Josh confessed to molesting underage girls during a conversation in 2003.
- An Arkansas police report indicated Duggar was investigated in 2006 when he was 18, but he was never arrested or charged with any crime. In 2015, Duggar was investigated for molesting his four younger sisters and a babysitter. Duggar married in 2008 and has fathered seven children with his wife, Anna. (NBC News)
Additional USA News
- Biden administration urges Supreme Court to reject Harvard affirmative action case (Axios)
- Biden signs executive order to make US government carbon neutral by 2050 (NBC)
- Father and Son Arrested on Suspicion of Starting the Caldor Fire (NYT, $)
- Senate votes to repeal Biden’s vaccine mandate (ABC)
- House GOP jockeys for top panel spots after Nunes exit (Politico)
- January 6 committee says it is moving forward with criminal contempt for Meadows (CNN)
Dredging Up The Past
- If ever there was a good reason for never giving up on a “cold case,” here’s one. Kyle Clinkscales was a college student at Auburn University in Georgia. The 22-year-old was last seen on the night of January 27, 1976, when he left his hometown of LaGrange, Georgia, to drive back to campus in his 1974 Ford Pinto. He never arrived.
- Authorities searched for Kyle and his car for 45 years to no avail. Lakes were drained, numerous searches were conducted, and hundreds of leads were followed up on in hopes of finding the young man. But on Tuesday, someone called 911 to report seeing what appeared to be a car in a creek off a county road about three miles away from what would have been Clinkscales’ normal route back to school. When authorities arrived, they were able to see the partially submerged vehicle with its hatchback open from the two-lane road that runs over the creek.
- After removing the vehicle from the water, local law enforcement determined it was a white Pinto with a Troup County license plate. The Troup County Sheriff’s Office ran the tag number and determined it was Clinkscales’ car. The top of the car was completely rusted away, but authorities still found a wallet, credit cards, Clinkscales’ ID, and several bones. Clinkscales’ father died in 2007, and his mother passed away earlier this year, never having given up hope that their only child would return home someday. If only Tuesday’s miracle could have happened a few years earlier. Call your mother. (CNN)
Additional Reads
- 2022 Pantone color of the year: Very Peri embodies change, innovation (USA Today)
- Fish ‘whoops and growls’ recorded on restored reef (BBC)
- ‘No one is solvent’: Coffee crisis in Central America fuels record exodus north (NBC)
- China clamps down on vasectomies in bid to boost birth rate (WaPo, $)
- After being pushed out of Google, Timnit Gebru forms her own AI research institute: DAIR (TechCrunch)
- New NASA Telescope Will Provide X-Ray Views of the Universe (NYT, $)