Students disappointed but not surprised
Supreme Court votes to do away with a means of school integration
Vanessa Rozier
7/6/07
Nation & World
Nation & World
The nine Supreme Court Justices are not scheduled to meet again until October. In the meantime, they have left America to deal with the law as they see fit. On June 28, the majority-conservative Supreme Court overturned school integration plans that used race as a deciding factor in student enrollment.
In Parents involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 et. al., parents in Seattle and in Jefferson County, Ky. schools filed suit against policies allocating children to different public schools, claiming that this policy, "based solely on their race, violates the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection guarantee."
Howard University students, after protesting this very outcome, are not surprised at how the nine Justices ruled.
"I'm very disappointed," said Victoria Kirby, junior speech communication major. "I was hoping not to be surprised."
Kirby read the transcript of the hearing, which was argued on December 4, 2006 while protesters lingered outside. Since then, she had a strong feeling they were going to rule conservatively.
Analyzing the outcome, Kirby said, "They looked at it very black and white. Race can still be used as a factor, but not as a last resort."
Melech Thomas, sophomore African American studies and legal communications major, was not surprised either. But, unable to go back in time, both he and Kirby have suggestions to those who are willing to get and stay involved.
"Lobby to Congressmen about getting an amendment saying that education in public schools must be equally funded across the state," Thomas said. "That's all we're asking for."
Kirby speculates that rural schools officials might abuse this decision. "They don't have to take special programs for racial balancing," she said. "At this point, if there are going to be schools, they're going to be majority black and we're going to be fighting for resources."
Looking into the future, Kirby hopes to see the same group that rallied in December to step up and come together again in order to ensure that things are fair. Simply put, Thomas said, "Our battle is to make sure that we are equal."
In Parents involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 et. al., parents in Seattle and in Jefferson County, Ky. schools filed suit against policies allocating children to different public schools, claiming that this policy, "based solely on their race, violates the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection guarantee."
Howard University students, after protesting this very outcome, are not surprised at how the nine Justices ruled.
"I'm very disappointed," said Victoria Kirby, junior speech communication major. "I was hoping not to be surprised."
Kirby read the transcript of the hearing, which was argued on December 4, 2006 while protesters lingered outside. Since then, she had a strong feeling they were going to rule conservatively.
Analyzing the outcome, Kirby said, "They looked at it very black and white. Race can still be used as a factor, but not as a last resort."
Melech Thomas, sophomore African American studies and legal communications major, was not surprised either. But, unable to go back in time, both he and Kirby have suggestions to those who are willing to get and stay involved.
"Lobby to Congressmen about getting an amendment saying that education in public schools must be equally funded across the state," Thomas said. "That's all we're asking for."
Kirby speculates that rural schools officials might abuse this decision. "They don't have to take special programs for racial balancing," she said. "At this point, if there are going to be schools, they're going to be majority black and we're going to be fighting for resources."
Looking into the future, Kirby hopes to see the same group that rallied in December to step up and come together again in order to ensure that things are fair. Simply put, Thomas said, "Our battle is to make sure that we are equal."
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George G. Wilson
posted 7/07/07 @ 9:28 AM EST
From The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, the student graduation rate for the University of the District of Columbia in 2006 was 8.0%.
What impact will this decision on the University of the District of Columbia?
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