Two Oregon colleges say affirmative action is vital to racial equity in admissions

For decades, affirmative action programs have been used as one way to bring racial equity to college admissions. Now the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases involving affirmative action. It is widely expected to rule the practice is unconstitutional. Milyon Trulove, the vice president and dean of admission and financial aid at Reed College, told OPB’s “Think Out Loud” that very few colleges in the U.S. actually represent the diversity of the country.

”I think we’d be kidding ourselves if we didn’t acknowledge that race has a history and an impact on our lived experiences, he said. “And if we’re doing our job, then that has to be a criteria that we use in order to create these classrooms that help people survive out in our world.”