Harvard Sees Drop in New Black Students After Affirmative Action Ruling

Harvard University has reported a decline in the number of Black students admitted to its freshman class, the first to enroll after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action in higher education.
According to the data released by Harvard on Wednesday, 14 percent of incoming students at the university identify as Black, marking a 4 percent decrease from the previous class. In contrast, Latino students now represent 16 percent of the freshman class, a 2 percent rise, while Asian-American student representation remains steady at 37 percent.
“We have worked very hard for many decades to ensure that students from every background come to Harvard and make a difference to their fellow classmates, the nation, and the world,” William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid, said in a statement. “We will continue to fulfill our mission, even as we continue to follow the law with great care.”
However, the data highlights the continuing ripple effects of the Supreme Court’s controversial 2023 ruling, which struck down race-based admissions policies in a case centered on Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Newsweek reached out to Harvard’s admissions office via online email form on Wednesday for comment.
The ruling has forced universities nationwide to reconsider their approaches to ensuring campus diversity.
Wednesday’s data shows that Harvard’s enrollment trends align with those seen at other colleges as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported a more steep decline with the percentage of Black students plummeting from 15 percent to 5 percent.
Meanwhile, Amherst College saw a similar drop, with Black student enrollment falling from 11 percent to just 3 percent. Tufts University more closely mirrored Harvard’s decline, with Black students now comprising 4.7 percent of the incoming class, down from 7.3 percent.
At other institutions, such as the University of North Carolina, there were also noticeable decreases in Black, Hispanic and Native American student enrollment.
Meanwhile, some universities, like Yale and Princeton, reported only marginal changes in their diversity statistics.
However, other colleges have not shared the demographics of applicants, making it impossible to know whether fewer students of color applied or were admitted but chose not to attend.
Meanwhile, the decline in Black student enrollment has raised concerns among advocates for diversity, such as Jeannie Park, co-founder of the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard. She said that for students of color, drops in their numbers can dramatically affect the campus environment and called on the university to reconsider “test-optional applications.”
“Harvard must address why it fell short, especially compared to other colleges,” Park said in a statement. “Practices such as reinstating test-optional applications and ending legacy and donor preferences—and much more—must be instituted asap.”
Richard Kahlenberg, director of the American Identity Project at the Progressive Policy Institute, praised the school for preserving diversity but questioned the legality of its methods.
“The million dollar question is whether Harvard achieved racial diversity legally, by giving a boost to economically disadvantaged students of all races or by cheating and employing covert racial preferences,” said Kahlenberg, who testified as an expert witness for Students for Fair Admissions, the plaintiffs in the Harvard trial.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.